The Greatest Treasure
by Kichino Sarafu
Summary: The woman with nine lives. She was undefeatable, and material pleasure didn't affect her. There was only one thing she wanted. A family. She wants to find her lost brother and find somewhere where she belongs. Pairings: KilluaXOC, KilluaXGon, GonXHisoka
1. Ecstasy

**Ecstasy**

The first memory I can recall at lengths would have to be of my brother. The memory of his carefree face playing chess against a man I couldn't quite recall the face of. My brother was an expert at chess. He could beat a proud player without loosing a single pawn. Only proffesional players with much experience could make him actually play to his full potential. Nothing brought me as much bliss as watching my brother's face while he played.

* * *

The young girl breathed in the salty ocean air as she looked out at the broad horizon. One arm, keeping her steady, latched onto one of the many sturdy ropes of the ship the other on her forehead, acting as a visor against the ungaurded sunlight. She stood upon the rim of the rocking boat, her long auburn hair whipping about in the strong wind.

"Looks like it's gonna get a wittle wough," the balding man came up behind her, eyes not upon the girl, but upon the sea as well. "I can tell by de taste o' de wind!"

The man's receeding hairline wasn't the only thing noticeable about his appearance. He had one eye sewn shut, probably for medical reasons, and when he spoke, only one half of his lips would lift up while the other half was swen, just like the eye. A gruesome scar ran down along the limp side of the man's face, as if pointing down to the horror below. The man had given up fashion long ago. His torn captain's uniform jacket lay ruddy and exposed upon his shoulders, gaping open to show the dirty undershirt beneath. His last shower was probably back when it rained.

Despite the aging man's haggard appearance, the young girl was unaffected, and she even had a broad grin on her face, which threw the old sea rat off. "What you be smilin' for, girly?" he asked her, his one eye narrowing suspiciously.

"I'm on my way to take the hunter exam, how could I not be smiling?!" the girl replied, her whole body squirming with giddy energy. "Plus, if your sea-sense is right, a storm should be coming, and that has got to be loads of fun! But more than that, the veiw is just nice."

The man's bushy eyebrows raised in wonder. "You're intersting, girly," he smirked, almost fondly. "What be your name?"

"The name's Ecstasy," the girl boasted, pounding her free fist against her chest in declaration, "but you can call me Stasy!"

"That be a fittin' name for ya, girly," the sea-dog chortled. "What be your reason fer takin' dat Hunter Exam? I like tah know my passengers, this old sea cap'in!"

"I want to find the greatest treasure in the world-no!-the universe!" the girl exclaimed, jumping up and down with excitement. "One worth more than gold, jewels, or even the hunter's license! Something that would be the ultimate collector's item! Something I would greatly like to have, and keep forever."

'_A great goal, this one has,_' the captain thought to himself then spoke aloud "What migh' dis grand treasure be?"

Stasy, for the first time, looked straight at the captain. Her look softened, no longer jittery and energetic, but now, calm, still smiling, but softly this time, more sentimentally. "A family."

Now he's heard it all. Out of all his career working as the preleminary examiner for the Hunter Exam, never before had he heard something like this. His expression mimicked Stasy's, his coarse face becoming soft and full of admiration. "Ya 'ave a wunderfull gift, girly," he spoke softly, full of warmth. "Ya can see de true valya of dings in life. I be sure ya'll find what you be lookin' fer."

Stasy nodded, she turned back to the ocean, a last gesture to end their conversation. The captain stood for a while, admiring the view along side her quietly, before nautical needs stole his attention.

* * *

Stasy had stood there the entire time, watching as the dark clouds made their way above the ship, looking like a bruise in the sky. There was no rain, only brash gales that lifted the water into the air and created their own fierce waves that crashed down onto the old ship. She giddily leapt off the banister and down onto the deck, making her way across the rocking boat to the captain's quarters. She expected to find the captain sleeping, as she had left him a few minutes ago, but it seems he was already up and manning the ship.

As she walked along the swaying deck, water poured from above, as if it was raining, but Stasy could tell easily that it was ocean water by the salty taste stuck in her mouth. She finally found the captain at the steering wheel, and a few other sailors at highly complicated mechanisms around the room.

"Can I be of assistance?" Stasy giggled, looking around in mere amusement.

"Girly," the captain shook his head, "ya never cease ta amaze this ol' sea-dog. A'ight! Work da sails!"

* * *

Stasy looked back up at the ship from the rocky ground. It felt weird to be on a inanimate floor. The sea captain looked down at her from the deck. "So," he mumbled to himself, "only seven made it off this ship. Well, with all the other ships coming here, there should be thousands of examinees this year. It seems we've got some lively rookies, too." Then he spoke louder, so that the young girl could hear. "Hey, girly! Da Hunter Exam is in a different place each year. Da only way tah find it is by findin' the navigators which lead examinees dat have impressed dem to the 1st Exam. If ya want tah find da navigators, try going to dat pine tree on that hill over yonder!" He pointed with his thumb over his shoulder to a series of hills to Stasy's left, past the city where she was currently located. She easily spotted the hill with the lone pine tree.

"Got it!" she yelled back up to the captain. "Thanks for the advice! Bye!" She waved her arms dramatically and then turned away.

"See ya!" the captain said his final farewell to the girl, and couldn't help but smile to himself. "An interestin' girl, dat one."

Hair billowing in the wind, Stasy made her way to the hill in the distance. The area was slowly becoming more and more wooded when she finally reached an abandoned town. She looked around perkily. Then, there were some brushing noises, and identical, cloaked and masked people blocked her path. They made odd whispering noises and had long frizzy hair. Then, a crippled old lady walked in front of the odd crew. She had an oak staff to walk with and lazy eyes, with two buck teeth that protruded from her closed lips.

"TIME FOR THE MIND-BOGGLING 'TWO CHOICE' QUIZ!!!" she shouted suddenly with amazing energy for so elderly a woman.

Stasy was silent, unsure of how to answer that. Her groupies behind her clapped politely and then stopped.

"Are you heading for that tree atop this hill, missy?" the old woman asked her, then continued, notwaiting for a reply. "If you want to get there, you'll have to pass through this town. Other trails are like a maze and littered with dangerous, magical beasts. To pass through here, you'll have to answer my two choice quiz. I will ask you one question, and you are to answer with either 'one' or 'two' within five seconds."

The young girl shrugged her shoulders. "Ok. Ask away, granny."

The old woman nodded, and then spoke. "A criminal has taken away your brother and your sister, and you can only rescue one. Which do you choose? 1. Your brother. 2. Your sister."

_What kind of quiz is this?_ Stasy thought. _There's no way anyone can answer either one of those!_

_It must be a trick, Stasy._

_Yes, this is another test of the hunter exam._

_I agree with those two, but something just doesn't seem right. Why would they merely ask a question? They are more than likelyto test our information seeking skills. There's something we've got to notice to answer._

_Apathy's got a point. _

_I say we go with our gut instinct. That usually works._

_Yeah, but we'll blame it all on you._

Stasy closed her eyes and waited. Five seconds had already passed and the old woman was watching her intently. "Time is up," she said in her aged voice. "What's your answer?"

No noise was present except for the distant chirping of the birds. Stasy's eyes remained closed.

"You are correct," the old woman finally spoke. "Silence was the answer. The real path is over here."

The woman pointed her staff to a wall of one of the decrepit buildings. A door appeared and it opened to reveal a long winding path into the forest.

"Take this path and you should reach a house beneath the pine tree. It should take you about two hours to reach the top."

Stasy nodded. "Thanks, Granny!" she smiled and then continued on her way.

* * *

_This Hunter Exam has been easier than I expected._

_We haven't actually taken the Hunter Exam yet. We're still in the preleminaries_

_Has it been 2 hours yet?_

The day was waning quickly, as the sky metamorphed from orange to purple. The birds were settling into their nests as the bugs substituted their nocturnal chirping. Finally, Stasy reached a clearing and there was indeed a wooden house benath the broad branches of the pine tree. The young girl thrust her head back to look up at the towering tree. "Wow! Its a lot bigger up close."

After gazing about for some while, she finally walked up the porch of the house and opened the front door to a disturbing scene. She found a creature that stood upon its two hind legs like a human and used its forelegs as arms to hold a woman with many tattoos over her body. It had a long, sly face like a fox with long moth-like ears. It had long clawed fingers and its fury tail whipped behind it.

_A kiriko. A shape-shifter._

It was almost unseen, that slight movement. Next thing the kiriko knew, the girl was up in his face, and she punched him down into the floor. Face crushed, the kiriko twitched along the floor and the woman was freed. Stasy heard a voice and she found a wounded man behind the unconcious kiriko. "Are you the navigator?" she asked coldly.

"Uh, actually," the man stuttered sitting up, and rubbing his cuts and bruises, "you just knocked out the navigator."

_Oops._

"Honey!" a voice called out from behind the girl. She turned around to find another kiriko walking through the front door. She immeadiatly bent her knees to ready an attack but the man and the woman shouted "No!"

She stood still in her spot, and then relaxed, her face blank and calm. "Are you also a navigator?"

"Y-yes," the kiriko stuttered, obviously surprised by this scene. "Has this one passed?" it asked the man and woman.

"Alarmingly," the woman answered, chuckling lightly. "What's your name?" she asked the girl.

"My name is Apathy," she answered coldly, frowning.

"How fitting," the kiriko stammered, then she went to help her fellow kin.

The other kiriko awoke, but didn't seem angry about being smacked into the floor. "Apathy, let me explain," it spoke. "We're the navigators. This is my wife," he pointed to his fellow kiriko, "and this is my son and daughter-" he pointed to the two humans which suddenly had ears like the navigators and similar facial features. "We'll fly you directly to the exam hall."

Apathy did not say anything to that, but just let the kiriko's open their arms, to reveal a webbed lining along their armpits. They leapt into the air, grabbed each of her arms and flew up into the night sky.


	2. First Exam: Part 1

**1st Exam: Part 1**

"This is the building for the first exam," a man in a robe and turban gestured towards a small resteraunt building.

Apathy quirked an eyebrow. She figured it would be the grand building next to the resteraunt but the man guided her inside, which wasn't any different from the outside. In truth, the man was the kiriko, transformed, to fit into human society, but he still had that sly look on his face. The diner was small, and only two people were employed. An old, balding man worked the kitchen while a young woman (most likely his daughter or close relation) served as the waitress.

"Welcome," the old man exclaimed, cheerily. "What'll it be?"

"The steak combo," the kiriko answered, which made the old man go stiff.

"Grilled or boiled?"

"Grilled, over low flame," the kiriko answered.

"This way," the young woman led Apathy into a windowless room with a table loaded with food. The young woman left and the kiriko stood at the door way.

"Good luck," he smiled, "you'll need it." Then he left.

The long-haired girl immeadiatly seemed to change into a different person as she squealed, and then dove into the food. The room slowly descended, like an elevator. Just as the girl finished her meal, the door opened to reveal a completely different room.

A long, wide tunnel was filled with hundreds of people, both men, women, old, and young alike. Everyone stared at her as she slowly walked into the tunnel. The heavy atmosphere loomed over her as she searched around the crowded area. A short man, with no ears, nose, hair, or neck handed her a round badge with the number 406. A scream drew her attention and she pushed through the crowd. A man was on his knees and both of his arms were chopped off. There was another man standing across from him, in an interesting costume, with a spade and club on the front of it, and a heart and diamond on the back. His pants poofed out at the bottom, but were wrapped above the ankles by long white strips. His shoes looked fitting for elves, as they curled up to a point at the toe. His hair was green at gelled up so that it defied gravity.

"Behold," he said in an humurous manner. "Now you see them, now you don't! You should be more careful. At least _apologize_ when you bump into someone."

"Number 44-Hisoka, the magician," the deep voice drew the girl's attention to a stout, husky man with a square nose and brown, slicked back, hair. He was speaking to a young boy in green clothes and spiky charcoal hair, a tall man with sideburns, black hair, and a suitcase, and a blonde haired boy in blue clothes and dangling earrings. "He seemed like a shoo-in last year, but then he attacked an examiner he...um, didn't _approve _of and was disqualified."

_He sounds like Malevolence, but with a sense of humor. _

_She can hear you, you know! Don't get her angry, idiot!_

_No, I don't think he's like Malevolence. He's more like..._

_like?_

_like brother. _

"Brother," the word escaped her lips.

Suddenly, Hisoka had a girl strapped onto his back like a baby koala. "You seem like an interesting guy," she giggled into his ear and his thin slits of eyes opened in surprise. He had not noticed her.

"Get off of me," he ordered, irritation itching at the back of his throat.

The girl ignored him. "That's some funny lookin' hair you got there, Hisoka-nii! It's green! I know! From now on, you'll be Asparagus-nii! Brother Asparagus! How fitting! I'm a genius!"

"**Get off of me now, or I'll kill you**," Hisoka growled.

"Ah! You're just like brother!" the girl sighed, still latched onto him.

Hisoka made the motion to rip the girl's head off, but she disappeared. "Uhn-uhn-uhn! You've gotta play nice!" she shook her finger. Hisoka looked in front of him to find the girl standing there. Many people were watching, stunned that someone was teasing Hisoka and living. However, Hisoka didn't lose his cool. In fact, he laughed aloud, and then bent over so that he was eye level with the girl. "What's your name?"

"Ecstasy!" she smiled broadly. "But you can call me Stasy!"

He raised himself back to his full height. "I look forward to taking this exam with you, Stasy," he smiled and then walked away.

Stasy turned to see the stout man and others gaping at her in amazement. "Hello there!" she smiled sweetly and walked over to them. "My name's Ecstasy, Stasy, for short. What's yours?"

The others were too busy gaping to answer. The young boy walked up to her, though. "My name's Gon! Gon Freaks! This is Tompa-" he gestured towards the stout man "-Kurapica-" towards the blonde "- and Leorio." towards the tall black-haired guy.

"It's nice to meet you, Gon and company!" Stasy smiled broadly.

Before the others could respond, a purple-haired man with a mustache and no mouth spoke up above the crowd. "As of now, registration is closed. The Hunter Exam will now begin!"

A serious of whispers and gasps came from the examinees.

"Follow me, please," he continued and then began to walk down the tunnel and everyone followed him. "I am Satotz, your examiner for the first exam, as well as your guide to the second exam."

Soon, the pace began to pick up.

"Hey, what's the rush?" Leorio quirked, looking around.

"As expected, the pace seems to have quickened," Kurapica thought aloud.

"So this is an Endurance Test, huh?" Leorio wondered aloud.

"Endurance Test?" Stasy cocked her heard to the side. "That sounds like fun."

As they continued running along, a boy with spiky white hair whizzed past them lazily on a skateboard. This didn't leave Leorio too happy.

"A SKATEBOARD?! That's cheating!" Leorio screamed.

"How so?" the white haired boy asked.

"He said this is an Endurance Test!" he retaliated.

"No, _you_ said that," Gon interrupted. "He only said to follow."

"Whose side are you on?!" Leorio screamed.

"Leorio, screaming only wastes energy," Kurapica sighed, sounding more and more like a tired, old mother every minute.

"I think I'll run for a bit," the white haired boy said as he hopped off his skateboard and ran on the other side of Gon, since Stasy was on his other side.

"I'm Killua," he said.

"I'm Gon," said he.

"I'm Ecstasy," the girl spoke up, feeling sort of left out between the two boys.

"Ecstasy? That's a weird name," Killua thought aloud.

Stasy's eye twitched, but she sustained her smile. "Killua's a nice name, too. It has the word '_kill_' in it. That's starting to give me an idea."

Killua shot her an icy glare, and she returned it with her smile still plastered on her face.

* * *

Three hours passed and examinees began to drop like flies. The course changed to an ascent of stairs, and the three kids came up in the lead.

"So, Gon, how old are you?" Killua asked.

"Me? About twelve," the wide eyed kid answered, then turned to the girl beside him. "What about you, Stasy?"

"I'm a little bit older than you guys," she answered. "I'm thirteen. Always have been."

"'Always have been'?" Killua inquired.

Stasy just smiled.

"So, Killua, why do _you_ want to be a hunter?" Gon intercepted, picking up the conversation.

"I _don't_ want to be a hunter," Killua retorted. "I'm here for the exam. I heard it was pretty tough, but so far its _boring_. What about you?"

"My dad's a hunter," Gon began, a dreamy look in his eye. "I want to be just like him."

"What's he like?" Stasy asked.

"I don't know."

There was silence and then Killua burst out laughing. "You're funny, Gon!"

"Really? I was raised by my Aunt Mito as a baby so the only memory of my father is a picture of him. But recently, a man named Kite came, and he knew my father. He seemed more proud of my dad than of himself. He told me a lot of stories about Ging, my dad."

"That sounds nice," Killua seemed to roll his eyes, but didn't. "What about you, Ecstasy? Why are you here?"

"Me? I got lost, and found myself here in this tunnel!" she smiled broadly. The other two stared at her in shock. "I'm just kidding! Actually, there's something I'm looking for."

"What's that?" Gon asked.

Stasy's smile softened, and she didn't seem to be looking in front of her, but far off into a dream. "The greatest treasure in the universe. A place where I can be accepted. I'm searching for a family."

"A family?" Killua wondered. "But before when you were latched onto Hisoka, you said he resembled your brother."

"You're sharp," Stasy smiled. "Yes, I had a brother. He's the only person from my past that I can remember. I loved him dearly, but..." her smile fell slightly, but then she brought it back, even brighter than before. "but now he's gone."

"I'm sorry, Stasy, but how's your brother similar to Hisoka?" Gon asked, baffled. "You seemed to really admire your brother. Why would he be like Hisoka?"

"Oh, its that merciless way they kill people! I just love it! They both don't give a damn about how other people feel! They also have this murderous aura about them, that just sends chills down my spine! It gets me so excited, I just feel like I could take on the whole world after just one cold look from him!"

Gon and Killua looked at each other, then they turned to Stasy and said in harmony, "You're a weirdo."

A bright light protruded down from the end of the tunnel and they were soon out in the open air. They stopped to catch their breath as the examiner stood before them, not even breaking a sweat. Stasy looked up to find a massive marsh spread out before her. A heavy fog covered the distance, so she wasn't sure how big it truly was. A million sounds of animals echoed from deep within its boggy trees.

"The milsy wetlands, also known as 'Swindler's Swamp,'" Satotz explained to the examinees. "This will be the next phase of the first Exam. There are many creatures hiding in there that will trick you in the blink of an eye and eat you before you can catch your breath. If you are deceived, you're **dead**. So stay close, and stay focused."

_Clank!_ The examinees swung around to find a large, metal wall blocked the tunnel from which they had come. There was no turning back now.

"He's lying!"

Everyone turned towards the direction of the shout and found a bloody man walk towards them from around the corner of the building that held the entrance of the tunnel. "He's not the real examiner! I am!!"

Gasps rang throughout the crowd as people began to look back and forth between the two "examiners."

"An imposter?"

"Then who-"

"What is he?"

"I'll show you," the examiner-to-be declared as he raised his arm to show the limp body of a monkey, but it had ahuman head. "He's one of the wetland cretures! The man-faced ape! They eat human flesh, but since their too weak on their own, they trick large groups of human and lead them deep into the swamp. This time, they're after the entire Hunter applicant pool!"

Before anyone could let out gasps of shock, the face of the man who had previously been speaking before had a couple of cards in it. The man fell dead upon the floor, but the man-faced ape that was supposedly dead began to move and it leapt up, trying to escape. However, the card thrower wouldn't let him off so easily. Hisoka thrust a single card into the air, and it decapitated the monkey. Everyone turned back to find Satotz, holding three cards in between his fingers.

"I see," Hisoka chuckled. "He's the real thing. Examiners are hunters who do this without pay, at the request of the judging commitee. A simple hunter would've been able to dodge my attack."

"The next attack on me, for any reason, will be grounds for immeadiate disqualification," Satotz snapped at Hisoka. "Understood?"

"Sure," Hisoka chuckled, shuffling his cards.

"Now then," Satotz spoke to the other examinees, "to the second phase."

He began his quick pace again and headed deep into the swamp. At this point, only 311 hunter examinees remained.


	3. First Exam: Part 2

**First Exam: Part 2**

The hard, concrete ground before changed into thick mud as the examinees ran through Swindler's Swamp. The fog closed in around the runners, getting thicker and thicker as they progressed.

"Gon, we should move up ahead," Killua said through breaths, his arms pumping at his side.

"Yeah," Gon agreed. "Gotta keep the examiner in sight!"

"Not only that," Killua spoke darkly, looking over his shoulder, eyeing Hisoka warely. "But _that_ guy is behind us. He's just killed and it looks like he wants to kill again."

"How do you know?" Stasy questioned him. Maybe it was his insulting tone at Hisoka's name, or the cocky way he talked, but something about this boy got on her nerves.

"Because," Killua answered lazily, "I'm just like him. I can _smell_ it in him."

"Hey, LEORIO, KURAPICA!!!" Gon shouted to the back. "YOU BETTER HURRY UP TO THE FRONT!!!"

* * *

Screams echoed through the bog, and the kids looked over their shoulders, but the fog blocked all view.

"Seems someone's been tricked," Stasy giggled. "That lessens the competition, I guess!"

In the rear of the marathon, cards flew out from seemingly every direction, killing most, but only landing itself in Leorio's arm, Kurapica, however, managed to block it with his weapon, two sheathed swords chained together at their hilts. Leorio let out a yelp, which alerted Gon and his sensitive hearing.

"Leorio!" he shouted and then began to run the other direction.

"Hey! Gon!" Killua shouted, surprised at his friends, behavior.

Stasy, however, only laughed, which confused Killua. "That kid never ceases to amaze me!" she chortled, holding her sides. "Don't worry, Killua. If Apathy says he'll come back alive, then he will."

"'Apathy'?" Killua was baffled. He just couldn't understand this girl's words.

"It's a S-E-C-R-E-T!" Stasy chuckled, holding a single finger to her lips.

* * *

"Bastard!" Leorio cussed at the advancing Hisoka. "What do you think you're doin'?"

"Heheh," Hisoka chuckled, shuffling his cards from one hand to the other. "Playing examiner."

There was still a large number of other examinees crowded around Hisoka. They had their weapons out, and they were pissed.

"I was thinking of holding off until the second Exam, but this first one is so _boring!_ I just couldn't wait," Hisoka whined ironically, still shuffling his cards back and forth.

"You idiot!" One of the examinees shouted at him in anger. "Now we've lost sight of the examiner. We failed and _you _have failed also!"

"That's where you're wrong," Hisoka chuckled. "A magician never runs out of tricks."

"A homicidal maniac like you has no right to be a hunter!" One of them shouted back at him.

"This will be your _last_ exam!" Another growled.

All at once, they lunged forth, weapons in the air. Hisoka didn't look the least bit phased at him being outnumbered. He even had the guts to smirk. With only the four of hearts, Hisoka single-handedly took down the entire group of angry hunters-to-be, laughing maniaclly the entire time.

"Only three left," he chimed, his murderous eyes set upon Leorio and Kurapica, along with Number 76.

The last three survivors backed away, huddling together and whispering a plan among themselves. Hisoka calmly made his way towards them, and then suddenly, number 76 shouted, "Three!" and each of them ran off in different directions.

"Smart move," Hisoka smiled. "For that, I'll grant you ten seconds." He began to count down, while his prey ran for their lives. "..9, 10. Now let's see which one will be first to die."

"Sorry, but I'm not the type to just run away," Leorio said as he walked through the shadows with a stick in hand, "without a quick payback!" He leapt forth, swinging the large stick at Hisoka, who easily dodged it.

Hisoka was about to attack Leorio when the end of a fishing line that held a pink orb smacked him in the face. Gon stood across the field of grass holding his fishing rod, breathing heavily.

"Not bad," Hisoka was truthfully impressed with the small bow. "A fishing rod. How original. Can I see?"

"Hey, aren't you forgetting something?!" Leorio shouted as he jumped up to attack Hisoka.

However, the magician landed a fist deep in his cheek, sending Leorio flying back. Gon instinctively swung his rod at Hisoka, but the homocidal prankster already had his hand around the little boy's neck. "Here to help you're friend?" He spoke softly into his ear. "There's a loyal lad. Don't worry. I'm finished with him; he's passed."

The magician smiled lecherously, as he stared at the bug-eyed, innocent child. _This one's a cutie,_ he licked his lips. _I just can't wait to rape him!_ "As have you," he continued, his perverted smile disappearing. "You'll be a fine hunter." He picked up Leorio's unconcious body. "Can you make it back on your own?"

Gon nodded.

"Good." Then he disappeared into the fog.


	4. Second Exam: Part 1

**Second Exam: Part 1**

Killua and Stasy were waiting along with the other examinees at a large department house that had strange sounds coming from it. Satotz had said this was the place for the Second Exam, and now they were waiting for the door to the building to open.

"Ah! Gon!" Killua looked to his side, and sure enough, the little boy in green was running along with his blonde-haired friend.

The two ran to meet up with their young friend, Killua with a look of relief, and Stasy with a look of "I told you so."

"So you _did_ acutally get here," Killua stated the obvious. "How'd you do it?"

"Umm...I followed Leorio's cologne," Gon answered sheepishly. "It has a distinctive scent, that I can smell from a mile away."

"Are you a dog or something?" Killua mumbled.

"So how come you guys can't get in?" Gon asked.

"That's why," Stasy answered him, pointing to the sign above the door that said _Second Exam Begins At Noon._

"As for the critter making that racket," Killua spoke up, picking at his ear with his pinky, lazily. "It's anyone's guess."

"So, we wait," Stasy finalized the topic, and they stared at the clock above the sign.

* * *

The eminse double doors swung inward with a loud creak, and the source of the growling was revealed. The first noticeable thing was the humongous giant, sitting on his rear, behind a a small couch that housed a petite girl with pink hair in many ponytails. She wore skimpy short shorts, boots and a net shirt that visibly revealed her bra. The gargantuan behind her wore a simple white T-shirt that could pass of as the sheet of a queen sized bed and beige shorts.He was developing a unibrow and his short black hair was messy.

"So, you hungry?" the young woman asked the giant.

"Hungry?" he replied with a snort. "I'm _famished._"

"Alright, applicants, listen up!" she shouted to the astonished crowd. "The Second Exam will be cooking! We're Gourmet Hunters, so this won't be some walk in the park."

"COOKING?!" the crowd gasped.

"First, you'll make a dish for me..." the giant spoke.

"...and if Buhara passes your effort, then you get to make a dish for me," the petite girl finished. "To pass this exam you'll have to satisfy both our palates! The testing period ends when both of us are full."

Everyone looked at each other, their anxiety rising. Most of them have never cooked in their lives.

"My dish of choice is..." Buhara spoke suspensfully. "...WHOLE ROAST PIG!!" He spoke through glittering eyes. "_Any_ pig will do."

"Ready?" the pink-haired girl asked the crowd. "Then get cooking!"

The examinees rushed out into the trees, searching for a pig to cook. Soon, the two Examiners were left alone.

"_Any _pig?" the chick chuckled. "That was mean. There's only one kind of pig in the Visca Forest. the world's most ferocious pig: the great stamp! They're short-tempered, vicious little bulldozers. If anyone's too slow, they'll be flattened in a heart beat."

Stasy and Gon ran through the trees, chased by three enormous pigs, twice their size. They had huge snouts that puffed out an angry steam. The two kids looked at each other with a smirk, nodding. "One...Two...THREE!" They skidded, turning in their tracks, and then leapt up over the astonished pigs. Gon smacked the forehead of one of them, while Stasy drop-kicked the swine in the head. Both pigs fell over, unconcious. The two children turned towards each other and high-fived. "Alright!"

As they returned to the proctors, there was already a growing crowd of roast pig. Buhara swallowed each of them down easily. The petite, pink-haired woman thwacked a never seen before gong with a mallet, and the sound rang through out the forest. "That's it," she announced the end of the first phase.

"Wow, seventy roast pigs," Stasy gaped.

"This guy ain't human," an examinee beside her's mouth hung open, also.

"Hunters are amazing, huh?" Gon was awed also.

"In a way..." Killua stuttered.

From afar, in a tree up ahead, Satotz watched the pool of hunters-to-be, his face undiscernable. '_Seventy pass. Not bad at all. Menchi's up next. And she's __**very**__ hard to please. She's one of the world's most renowned chefs, and her contributions to culinary culture has earned her the title of a Single-star Hunter._'

"Be aware," Menchi spoke up, "that unlike my friend, Buhara, over here, I can be a **very** harsh critic."


	5. Second Exam: Part 2

**Second Exam: Part 2**

"Second Exam, Part two," the pink-haired woman proclaimed. "And my dish is...SUSHI!"

Everyone looked at each other. _What the hell is sushi?!_

"I see that sea of blank faces," Menchi giggled. "I'm not surprised. Sushi comes from a small island country. But don't despair!" She walked into the department house. "Come on in!" Everyone followed her.

Inside the building, many rows of counters, complete with sinks, knives, cutting boards, and all sorts of cooking utensils.

"Fully equipped sushi stations!" Menchi announced, standing amidst the culinary work tables. "You have all the tools you'll need and the key ingredient, rice, is cooked and waiting. Oh, and here's an important point: I'm partial to _nigiri sushi_-hand molded." She paused so the information could sink in. "Man your stations! As before, the test is over when the examiner-that's me-is full. Until that point you can make as much as you like."

Everyone looked around aimlessly among their stations. Many began to mold the rice, including Gon.

"Do you think she means rice balls?" he suggested.

"These knives say there's more to it," Killua said. Looking at one of the sharp utensils.

"Maybe there's an extra igredient we have to get," Stasy eyed the tools also.

Meanwhile, the ninja named Hanzo was smiling to himself. '_What luck! That's _my _country she's talking about! This one's in the bag! Better not appear too pleased though. Better let the others think I'm clueless too, and then they'll have no chance._' He suppressed a giggle, and then glanced over to a nearby examinee molding rice. He couldn't contain himself, he turned over, and hugged his stomach, snorting with laughter.

Everyone ground their teeth. _He so knows!_

The three children were racking their brains before they heard Leorio shout "FISH?! In a FOREST?!" Everyone turned their heads and immeadiatly began to charge out of the building and towards the rivers and ponds. "Uh-oh, time to go!" Stasy shouted as she grabbed Gon's and Killua's hands, dragging them outside.

They had no time getting satisfactory fish, with Gon's fishing skills, and returned post-haste to their stations. They began to chop up the fish just like everyone else.

'_I don't know what to do_,' Stasy gritted her teeth in anticipation. '_I've never heard of sushi before in my life. Plus it seems like that ninja guy knows everything! Apathy, help! You're smart! You must know what it looks like!_

_I haven't the slightest inkling, and even if I _did _know, I wouldn't tell you._

_Hey, you promised you would help! We all agreed that we would become hunters to find a family! You can't back out now!_

_Fine, I'll help you, but I still don't know anything. Reading about food always makes you hungry. _

_It makes you hungry, too. We share the same stomach, you know._

Before she could coax anything out of her brain, Leorio presented himself before Menchi with an interesting dish.

"One sushi, comin' up! My own on-the-spot recipe! I call it _Leorio's Special!_" He lifted the lid to his plate and presented an odd-looking ball of rice and wiggling fish parts.

Menchi flung the dish over her head, her eye twitching. "You're kidding, right?" she growled.

"What kinda critique is _that_?!" Leorio retaliated.

"You dissin' my judgement?" Menchi tested him. "Back to your station. Listen up! The shape is essential! To be nigiri sushi, it's gotta look like nigiri sushi! Nothing less!"

"Alright!" Mine's up!" Stasy announced with delight as she flourished her dish in front of the examiner. "I present to you, the winning piece!" She revealed her "sushi" and the examiner flung the dish just as she did with Leorio's. "You takin' lessons from 403?" she growled.

Stasy fell to her knees in shock. "I'm the same as..._him_?"

"Is it that traumatic to be compared to me?!" Leorio growled.

As everyone was sulking about, crestfallen, the ninja, Hanzo, stepped up. He brandished his plate in front of Menchi with flourish. "Here!" he announced with grandeur. "Actual sushi!"

"Now we're talkin'!" Menchi sighed with relief as she picked up the square meal with her chopsticks and plopped it into her mouth. "Nope, no good. Try again."

"W-W-What?!" the baldy gasped in appallation. "B-But sushi is just rice molded into an oblong shape and then a piece of fish slapped on it! Nothing simpler! It tastes the same, no matter who makes it!!"

He stopped and turned around warily, as he realized that he had just shouted out the answer to everyone. However, that was the least of his worries. An ominously frightening demon came up behind him.

"'Nothing simpler'?" Menchi quoted. "'tastes the same'?"

Then she grabbed Hanzo by the collar and shook him till his head rolled off. "YOU IMBECILE!! IT TAKES 10 YEARS OF TRAINING BEFORE YOU CAN EVEN BEGIN TO MAKE PROPER SUSHI!!! YOU PITIFUL EXAMINEES COULDN'T EVEN CHALLENGE A RANK BEGINNER!!"

"Then what chance do any of us have?!" Hanzo yelled back at her.

"Shut up, Baldy!" She roared. "You can't cut it; too bad!"

Buhara sighed as Menchi practically ate the ninja's head off. '_I hate it when she gets like this. Once she gets worked up, she loses all perspective. Only a handful of chefs in the world can meet her palates._'

"Phew!" Menchi sighed as she fell onto the couch. "All that yelling's made me hungry. Next challenger!"

Stasy sighed and sat on her sushi station which was close enough to view the millions of examinees that now crowded around Menchi. The crowd was so thick that the three children had little chance of reaching the examiner in one piece. When one examinee was turned down, another returned with a new dish. Stasy dropped to her knees and held her head in her hands.

"Ugh! It's useless!" she cried in frustration. "We'll never make it! I can't cook! No one can! I might as well just kill myself now instead of failing the exam over and over again, because I'll never make it as a Hunter!!!"

Gon and Killua stared at each other, utterly shocked at her sudden change of mood. "Uh, Stasy...it's not like we've lost already! You can always get stronger!"

"WAAAAAAAHHHAAAAAAHH!!!" Stasy wailed louder, enough to turn a few heads. "Stasy! Stasy! Stasy!! Always Stasy!!! Why must everyone always confuse me with her!!! Even if I die, the angels will still call me Stasy!!! If I even get to go to heaven!!"

Purple eyes stared into brown ones. What the fuck was this chicks problem? The boys were about to inquire further, but there was something different about the atmosphere. Menchi had stopped screaming her insults about everyone's culinary pieces of crap.

"I'm full now," she perked. "That's it."

Everyone was petrified. '_B-But...No one passed..._' This sent the girl who hates being mistaken for Stasy on another water ride.


	6. Second Exam: Intermission

**Second Exam: Intermission**

"It's decided: In the Second Exam, phase two, EVERYONE'S FAILED!!!"

A series of retaliations erupted through the multitude of indignate examinees.

"So that's it? Everyone's just failed?!"

"This is just _ridiculous_!"

"WAAAAAHHHHAAAAAAAAA!!!!!"

"Will you shut up already?!" Killua shouted at the source of the water works.

"B-But..they've failed me!! Mel!!! I've worked so hard for this moment and now its all gone!!!"

"Well, then take it next year!!" the white-haired boy lashed out, but Gon stepped forth. "Wait, did you say 'Mel'?"

The watery-eyed girl looked up at the onyx-haired boy like a wounded puppy. "Yes. My name is Melancholy. Mel for short."

Their mouths hung open. They looked at each other, the same thoughts going through their head. _What __**was**__ this girl? _The two boys jumped when a loud smash erupted from the direction of the examiners. Number 255 had smashed the table that held Menchi's plate and cup.

"I've had enough of this!!" He erupted. "You don't like our sushi, too bad!! I came here to be a black-list hunter, not a prissy cook!"

"Sorry to hear that," Menchi shrugged her shoulders. "'Cause this year, prissy cooks reign. Better luck next year, huh?"

"Don't you mess with me!!!" the chubby dude yelled as she charged Menchi, however he soon went flying back as Buhara smacked him with a wide swing of his massive hand.

The pink-haired girl glared at the giant from over her shoulder. "Buhara, that was uncalled for."

"Not really," the gargantuan retorted. "If I hadn't stepped in, you would've killed him."

Menchi snorted and the stood up from the couch to reveal that she had been holding long butcher's knives all along. "_He_ want's to be a black-list hunter?" she scoffed. "Remind him that he was just popped by a prissy cook." She began to flip the knives lazily. "Doesn't matter what kind of hunter you aim to be; you've got to be proficent in the martial arts. Rare foods are often obtainable only in inhospitable places and us Gourmet Hunters are frequently called on to capture poachers. If you're _any_ kind of Hunter, the martial arts becomes second nature. As does the burning desire to seek the unknown! That's what I look for in all of you!"

"Even so," a voice that seemed to ascend from the heavens called out into the open air. "Isn't it a bit too abrupt to fail the entire applicant pool?"

Everyone looked up into the sky to see a massive blimp floating along lazily in the air, although its proppelers were swirling franticly. Brandished in bold colors on the side was the offical Hunter logo. The Judging Committee had arrived. A little dot moved along the bottom of the blimp and slowly grew bigger until it landed with a hard thud on the ground. An old man with Chinese articulation simply walked from the spot he had landed as though it was a mere hop.

"Chairman Netero," Menchi straightened her back anxiously. "Head of the Exam Commission."

"Menchi," the old man addressed the examiner which stood at attention.

"Yes, sir!"

"Did you fail them because they lacked the desire to challenge the unkown?"

"Well...no," she admitted. "I got ticked when an examiner belittled the task and when they all found out how to make the dish, I lost my appetite."

"Did this inhibit your ability to make a sober evaluation?" he tested her.

"I admit I get very emotional about food, so I've failed as an examiner. I'll resign my post, and withdraw my decision."

"Hmmm," the old man thought, stroking his beard absent-mindedly. "I think changing the present test would compromise the results of the exam. Instead, I'll have you stay as examiner. However, you will participate in the new test yourself to set an example for the examinees. That way, they at least know they've got a shot. How does that sound?"

"All right," Menchi perked up again. "How about we try boiled eggs? Chairman, can you take us up to that split mountain over there?"

"Why, of course," he chuckled and then all the examinees were whisked off in the blimp, to the mountain.

When they had finally reached the elevated ground, they all spilled out on the one mile radius that made up the plateau that was Split Mountain. Running through the middle of the exspanse, was a deep gash the opened into a ravine.

"Wow...that''s some drop," Number 255 swallowed a lump in his throat as he peered over the edge.

"Yup," Menchi agreed, in the middle of removing her boots. "Deepest one in these parts. There's a fast river at the bottom that'll whisk you away to sea." She finished her task and walked to the edge and then leapt off. "Later, gators."

Everyone gasped as they believed Menchi to have commited suicide. However, Netero explained. "The Spider Eagle lives here. They spin webs across the ravine and lay their eggs here, so land beasts can't get them. Just grab a strand collect an egg and then climb back up."

"And then you boil it!" Menchi chimed in and everyone turned back to the ravine to see her waiting with a speckled egg.

"HECK YEAH!!!" the shout resonated through the forest. Everyone turned to see the girl jump into the air, practically bursting with energy. "That sounds awesome! I want to try!!! See you guys!" she waved back to a stunned Gon and Killua and then leapt off the edge, a fading "WHHHHHEEEEEE!!!!" cutting the silence.

"Neat," Gon broke the tension. "This should be fun."

"Yeah," Killua agreed. "Now _that's_ a test."

"Beats cooking six ways to sunday," Leorio chimed in. "Let's go!!"

Everyone leapt in after Gon and Killua, although a few remained.

"That's it?" Menchi almost seemed disappointed. "No one else?"

"It's ok to know your limits," Netero followed up. "You can take the exam another time."

Down below, the bug-eyed girl latched onto one of the webby strands of the Spider Eagle nest and swung around once, before the white rope finally held strong. She grabbed one of the brown speckled eggs, and then worked her way back to the wall just as Gon and Killua dropped down onto a strand next to her.

"You guys just getting here?" she smirked.

"When did you change back to Stasy?" Killua asked, unmoved.

Stasy went rigid, but then smiled. "During the blimp ride. You guys were just so pre-occupied with the test you didn't notice I wasn't balling my eyes out anymore. Well, I'd love to chat, but I can't hang here all day. See you at the top!"

Without another word, she crawled up the side of the cliff like a four-legged spider. Killua just shrugged and hurried to collect an egg and return back to solid ground.

* * *

Once everyone, who didn't fall, that is, had made it back to the top, a giant cauldron lay waiting, complete with boiled water. They all tossed in their eggs and waited an hour until Menchi said it was time.

"Here's a chicken egg," she held up a normal white egg. "And here's a spider eagle egg." she held a speckled brown egg in her other hand. "Try both, and tell me how you like it."

The examinees each held a white egg and a brown one. They curriously nibbled both and nearly jumped from the shock.

"IT'S DELICIOUS!!!" Everyone yelled in unison. "It makes regular boiled eggs seem like rubber balls!!"

"I hope you now appreciate what we Gourmet Hunters do. "Not all treasures are jewels, metals, or artifacts. Gourmet Hunters live for such delicacies."

Everyone stared at their food, revising on their opinions of Gourmet Hunters. Then, Netero jumped in.

"Now everyone, hop back into the blimp and I'll give you all a ride to the next Exam!"


	7. The Blimp Ride

**The Blimp Ride**

At the head of the airship, in an open room, the 42 remaining examinees listened intently to the old chinese man's speech. He wore a worn beige robe with red markings on the back. His puffy beige pants stopped at his ankles and his feet adorned wooden sandals. He had a grey beard and was bald excluding the ponytail on his head.

"I should introduce myself properly," he spoke out to the tense group. "I am Netero, chairman of the selection committee for this year's exam. I figured I didn't need to show up until the final round, but since I'm already here, I'll enjoy this nice, edgy atmosphere!! Hohoho!!"

"We'll arrive at our destination eight A.M., tomorrow," a short, bald, noseless man that Stasy recognized from the First exam explained to the crowd. "Until we notify you, please relax and enjoy the ride and the features of this ship."

With that said, everyone was released. "Come on, Gon!" Killua pulled the boy along. "Let's go explore!"

"Yeah!" he chimed, but then looked back at Stasy. "You wanna come?"

"I'll join you guys later," Stasy apologized, her mind obviously somewhere else. "I wanna talk to Asparagus-nii for a bit."

"We'll see you then!" Gon shrugged his shoulders and continued on. Killua followed but his ecstatic smile disappeared, as he secretly watched Stasy leave the room.

* * *

Hisoka sat in one of the many waiting rooms, stacking a perfect pyramid of cards. When he lay the last piece down, the structure crumbled, creating a pile of cards on the floor, as if to alert the prescence of the newcomer. Hisoka chuckled, which set people around him on edge.

"Hello, Asparagus-nii!" Stasy smiled broadly as she walked into the room and immeadiately zoomed to Hisoka's exact location. "Whatcha doin'?"

"Waiting for you," he replied. "The _other_ you."

Stasy seemed frozen, and then her smile slowly faded away, and her bright, eager eyes grew cold and dark. "**How long have you known?**" the dark voice eminated from the small girl.

"Oh, since you turned into Melancholy," Hisoka picked up his cards and began another pyramid. "Those little boys may think you're only pretending, but I know who you really are." His little golden pupils moved in the thin slits to look at the dark girl. "The girl with nine lives, who destroyed the entire city of Kainstald. You have many different names by people who fear you. However, I would like to know your true name."

"**My true name? Not even I know**," the girl mused. "**However, this personality is known as Malevolence.**"

"How fitting," Hisoka chortled. "Do you have a cute nickname like the others?"

"**I have no need for one,**" she frowned deeply, her brows knitting furiously, a dangerous aura eminating from her. "**Because anyone who has heard my name soon dies.**" She clenched her fists, the urge to fight oppressive in the air.

"Calm down," Hisoka sighed, already on the second row of his little pyramid, waving the girl off. "I have no desire to fight you as you are now. I've got my sights on another fruit. I am merely waiting for him to ripen until I can devour him completely." As he said this, his eye twitched and he licked his lips. Malevolence could tell he was getting _excited._

"**Who is it? Gon?**" she inquired.

"Yes," Hisoka smiled even wider than he already was, as if he was remembering something nostalgic He was on his fourth row. "He holds potential. I can tell he will get stronger. I am merely waiting until he is ripe enough. And when he is, I shall-"Hisoka flicked a card in his hand"-_pluck_ him."

"**You're wasting your time on that boy?**" Malevolence merely snorted.

"What's wrong?" Hisoka smirked. "Are you jealous?"

"**Hardly,**" she retorted. "**I just don't understand why you have your eyes set on him when he has a perfect specimen next to him.**"

"Killua? He's definitely curious, but I've already met someone even stronger than him." He caressed her cheek. "You."

The girl's expression darkened to an evil measure and a purple light glowed at the point of contact. Hisoka calmly pulled his hand back. It was burnt badly.

"Fiesty today, aren't we?" Hisoka chuckled, licking his wound, then he stood up in front of his finished pyramid. "All this conversation has gotten me hard," he sighed, picking up his cards. "I suppose I won't be seeing you anytime soon?"

"**Not if **_**Stasy**_** can help it**," Malevolence spat in disgust at the name. "**She's still searching for a way to seal me.**"

"Well, then, I bid you, adieu," Hisoka bowed and then walked off.

* * *

Stasy was wondering around the many hallways of this enourmous blimp. To her left was a long row of windows that opened up into the night sky. The brown-haired girl sighed in serenity as she gazed upon the gliterring jewels below. _It may cause light pollution, but it's still breath-taking from above._

She turned the corner just in time to hear a gruesome splash and to see pieces of human men soaking in a pool of blood on the floor, with Killua standing in the middle of it all, one arm covered in the red liquid, the other holding his shirt.

"Oh, my god!!" Stasy shouted which alerted Killua to her prescence. "We better clean up this mess! Someone might slip!"

Falling to her knees, she immeadiatly began to proceed in the task. Killua simply stared at her for a few seconds before his brain began to work again.

"You do realize I killed them, don't you?" he asked her.

"Of course, silly!" she giggled happily. "You're covered in their blood. Anyone could see that. Since you caused all of this you should help me too."

Killua couldn't help but laugh. Twice. Twice today, someone has seen his dark side and brushed it off as if it had no meaning. "Girl, I just don't get you. Most normal people would be running away by now, and the only thing you're worried about is if someone happened to _slip_."

"That's because I'm only allowed to feel one emotion," Stasy said as she continued her work. "Animalistic instincts would tell one that danger is near, but I don't have any instincts. While I am Stasy, I'm only allowed to feel ecstasy, and that's it. Plus," she added smiling up at him, "Fear is not one of my personalities."

_What are you doing?! Are you going to blow our cover so early in the game?!_

_Yeah! What do you think we have been doing up until now, letting you be out all the time!_

_It's ok! I _want _to tell him. I'm planning on telling Gon too. Besides, Hisoka already knows, so its only a matter of time before word gets out who I really am. _

_We could always kill him before that happens. _

_Like we would have a chance. _

_Besides, _Stasy's grin widened to a disturbing degree, _He has no shirt on. I must repay him for this delicious treat._

"You know, Killua," Stasy said as she finished cleaning up the last bit of blood on the floor. "We're not so different you and I." She stood up and dusted herself off. She turned to him with the sweetest smile she could muster. "We both have killed millions of people."


	8. The Girl With Nine Lives

**The Girl With Nine Lives**

They were only twelve and thirteen. They stared at each other, both covered in blood. One without a shirt on, causing the other to want to take hers off too, however society declared that sinful. They were both killers.

"I'm sure you are suspicious of me," the girl with long brown hair spoke to the boy with short white hair. "Who wouldn't be? It's not like I have been trying to conceal it with all of my ability. The one you know of now is Stasy, however there are eight other personalities lurking within me. Melancholy, which you have already met, Apathy, Jealousy, Listless, Rage, Timidness, Love, and Malevolence."

She seemed to spit at the last word, but it didn't show on her care-free face. She looked into the boy's wide, purple eyes. "May I tell you my story?"

He nodded, eager to learn more.

"There once was a small girl. She was rather thin for her age, but no other physical feature differentiate her from any other girl. However, there was plenty of mental differences. For as long as this girl could remember she had nine personalities in her head. Each one only felt a single emotion, so she frequently switched them out to appear normal and give the others some rest. She has remained thirteen for many years, since she has little to no memories of her creation.

"However, what memories she can recall are all of a man with black hair and pale black eyes. And in each one of these memories, there was always a glass wall between them. He often played chess. And the little girl took much delight in watching him conquer his foes easily. Thus was born Love.

"One particular event with her 'brother' happened one evening. He was playing another easy chess game when a man in a white coat disturbed him. He showed him some papers, that made him very angry. They began to yell at each other, though the girl couldn't hear what they were saying. Because of her Love for her brother, she hated this man for causing him unhappiness. Thus was born  
Malevolence.

"Malevolence soon grew stronger and stronger over Love as her brother became less and less happy. Soon Malevolence took complete control over her body. The next thing Love knew, she was in a burning city, slaughtered people surrounding her. Malevolence said that they caused this. They destroyed the city of Kainstald. Love simply couldn't bear with the thought. The Fear. The guilt. So Melancholy was born to cope with it, so Love wouldn't have to.

"Many months passed, and Melancholy never once moved from her spot, but after a while, her tears ran dry, and her sobs grew quiet. She was still depressed, but not in a feverish manner. She began to walk around, lifelessly. Thus was born Listless.

"In her travels, Listless came upon a small village. There she met a patient old lady who took her in. The woman was kind and understanding, and nursed Listless out of her depression. She taught her that if she was truly remorseful over her actions she should work to save as many lives as she took. Only then could she be forgiven. So, the girl lived many years of her life, with the old lady, distributing medicines and learning to heal people of their ailments. Thus was born Ecstasy.

"Many events happened through Stasy's soujorn at the old medicine woman's house. At first, it took her a while to face other humans. She became so shy around patients, she couldn't help. She created Timidness to remove her fear of rejection and finally make herself usefull to the old woman.

"Something else happened with the old lady; her family came to visit one summer, and her daughter didn't appreciate that she was leeching of her her elderly mother. She often stole the old lady away, taking away the source of Stasy's relief. Thus was born Jealousy.

"The tension between the girl and the old lady's daughter grew to extremities, and one time, the daughter went so far as to insult the girl and she flew at the daughter in a violent rage. They got into a fist fight and she ended up permanently ailing the daughter. The old lady, although patient and forgiving no longer treated the girl the same way before. The girl couldn't take the awkwardness between them. She soon grew to hate the woman and eventually killed her. Thus Rage was born.

"After this, the girl wandered on her own like a wounded animal. She trusted no one. She never smiled. She only acted 'nice' if it was profitable to her. Always calculating. Apathy.

"And so, nine 'lives' the girl bore. She never aged, never fell ill, never bled. She had killed countless people and nothing could rewrite that. For many years, only Apathy showed on the outside. The other personalities lay dormant, until the girl went into seclusion. She meditated constantly, trying to seek a purpose in her being. She finally came to the conclusion that she must find her brother. He would know what to do. He would give her purpose."

Stasy had been leaning against the wall as she told the story of her life. Her arms crossed against her chest and her eyes closed, she reflected on her past.

"So here I am now," she opened her eyes and looked at Killua, who, disappointingly, had replaced his shirt on his upper body. "I strive to become a Hunter, because they have the most reliable and copious source of information. I just hope my brother is still alive. I can't remember how long I've been alive. I have the appearance of a thirteen year old, so that's what I tell people."

"I understand the different personalities and all," Killua shrugged. "But how come you never age nor bleed?"

"I-I...have no idea," Stasy was smiling broadly, despite the mood she was projecting. "What am I? This is something I also hope to find out when I find my brother. There is something that's definite though." She looked at Killua who awaited her continuation. "I have amazing power laying dormant within me, and can only be tapped through Malevolence. So, I also seek to seal her as well. I try my best to counter hatred by remaining as Stasy most of the time, but I might have a dream at night that causes me anger, and Malevolence might sneak out while my gaurd is down. Who knows how many people I have killed sub-conciously?"

Silence passed between the two children as she let the information sink in. When Killua had finally proccessed it all, he spoke into the gloomy atmosphere. "Compared to you, I just seem like a whiny brat. I come from the Zaoldyeck family, a famous group of proffessional assassins. I've been raised since birth to kill exactly and secretly. My parents see me as some sort of prodigy, and want me to be their heir, but I want to live my own life, so I've run away and came to take the Hunter Exam to kill time."

Again, Killua was surprised by Stasy's sudden laughter. "There's another thing we have in common. We kill, but do not want to kill. On the inside."

"So, Stasy, are you going to tell Gon?" Killua threw the question into the air.

"Stasy?" the girl batted her lashes. "I'm not Stasy! I'm Love!!" She grinned broadly, and Killua was a little disput. What has he gotten himself into?


	9. Third Exam: Part 1

**Third Exam: Part 1**

Killua was budding. More rather something was latched onto him. That something being a girl named Love. People were noticing this, especially Gon.

"Sta-I mean...Love," he poked her arm which was around Killua's hip. "You can't stay with him forever. I mean...he's gotta go to the bathroom sometime."

"I know!" Love chimed. "And I'll go with him!! I can help him-"

She couldn't finish her sentence because Killua just punched her in the face and walked away from the bloody mess, red with embarassment. Love sat in a bloody mass on the floor. _It was so worth seeing his cute, embarassed face._

"Love," Gon slowly walked towards her. "You really shouldn't tease Killua like that." _He might actually kill you one day. _

"What's wrong?" the girl sat up straight, unaffected by the deadly blow she had just been dealt. "Jealous?"

"Why would I be jealous of him?" Gon asked straight-faced.

"Not of him," Love smiled slyly. "Of me."

"You? Wha-"

"_Sorry for the delay_," the intercom interrupted him. "_We have arrived at our destination._"

Everyone looked outside the windows of the humongous blimp. Beneath the airship stood a rock tower of unascertainable height. Clouds hid the bottom, wrapped around the tower in puffy, white rings. The building had smooth edges and no visible openings. It was a perfect cylinder from top to bottom. The contestants were presently oblivious to its purpose.

Once the airship landed itself upon the flat expanse, the examinees impatiently filed out and gaped about them. The three youngsters lounged around near the edge.

"Wow!" Gon gawked. "I can see for miles up here!"

"Really?" Killua shrugged. "I only see clouds."

"You just have bad eyes, honey," Love giggled, also peering over the edge.

"Hey, when did I become 'honey'?" Killua growled.

"That's no way to treat your fiancee, sweet-heart!" Love made a kissy face at him, which only gained her a kiss from his fist.

"Stop deciding these things on your own," he roared and then slunked off with Gon.

"Aww...boys have no sense of romanticism," Love whimpered, but still followed them in high-spirits.

Everyone hushed as the short bald man with no nose or neck cleared his throat. "We are at the top of Trick Tower," he announced. "This is where you enter the third phase. As for the test itself, the examiners have informed me that you have 72 hours to reach the base of Trick Tower alive."

Murmurs rippled through the 40 remaining applicants. They turned back to see that the Hunter Judging Commission had already boarded the airship and were leaving as they gawked.

"Begin your descent!" a speaker boomed from the blimp. "And good luck!"

Everyone looked about themselves, no inkling as to where to begin. The sides where smooth and nearly impossible to climb, plus there were no doors or windows...within visibility.

"There must be a hidden door somewhere," Kurapica surmised, glancing about.

"I think you're right," Love spoke about as she looked around. "See, the crowd has been thinning without us noticing."

"Twenty-one, twenty-three," Leorio counted. "Only twenty-three left?! Where did everybody go?"

"There must be multiple trap-doors," Kurapica concluded.

"Leorio! Kurapica!" Gon called out to them as the two boys came running over. "We found a trapdoor!"

The group followed and were led to a spot near the west side of the tower. They all stood around in a circle.

"There are five in all," Leorio pointed out. "All grouped close together. Interesting..."

"No doubt there are traps under most of them," Kurapica spoke his thoughts.

"And it seems they can only be tripped once," Gon informed the rest.

"Why?" Love asked.

"We saw someone fall through one over there," he pointed over his shoulder. "But when we tried it, it wouldn't budge. Guess its one door per applicant. Guess we're all on our own."

"NOOOOOO!!!" Love wailed as she glomped Killua. "Fate can be so cruel!! I can't live without you my swe-" _Punch!_

"Gon and I figure we'll each pick one, and if they're traps, oh well," Killua suggested to the others as Love lay smoking on the floor. "How about you guys?"

"Aw, why not?" Leorio shrugged. "This may be a test of luck."

"On the count of three," Kurapica led. "We all hop in. Guess its so long for now."

"See ya on the ground," Leorio waved.

"Ok," Gon and Killua chimed.

Love was still wailing on the floor next to the remaining trap door.

"One, two...THREE!"

They leapt through the trap doors, falling for about a second before they reached hard ground. They looked around each other to find themselves in the same room, contrary to their previous expectations. Killua and Gon gave each other thumbs-up, while Love lavished Killua in kisses, only to earn herself another punch in the face. There were no other visible openings, but a placard was on the wall above a table with five curious wristbands.

_**The Path of Majority Rules**_

_The five who drop into this chamber must find their way down together by consensus of the majority._

They looked down at the little blue wrist timers. They had a clock ticking down their 72 hours by the second and two buttons marked X and O. They each put one on.

"Very good," a little speaker box from above jutted into their bewilderment. "There are many ways down, each route with different requirements. This is the path of Majority Rules, and it cannot be traversed by one man alone. Cooperation will be the essence of success. Good luck with _that _endeavor."

A grating noise resonated from the left and they all turned to see a piece of the rock wall move to reveal a door. On the door was a sign that read _Open this door: O - Yes, X - No_

"We have to agree on this already?" Leorio complained. "Well, its a pretty obvious choice anyway."

Everyone looked down to their wrist timers and all pressed O. The door swung open and they ventured through to meet a wall. To their left and right were bars barracading the way. Ahead of them read another sign.

_Which way?_

_O- Right_

_X- Left_

"This could get monotonous," Leorio sighed.

"Yes, if we can't even go five feet without having to take a vote," Kurapica grumbled.

Everyone made their choice and the results appeared on the sign. O: 3, X: 2. The bars to the right slowly rose up and out of the way.

"_Right?_" Leorio shouted. "Look, in a maze, you wanna go left! I want to go left! I need to go left! Right makes me nervous!"

"Behavorial research shows that people who are lost unconciously tend go left," Kurapica explained.

"I've heard that too," Killua piped in.

"Screw research!" Leorio fumed. "Which did _you _pick?"

"O," Killua and Kurapica chimed happily.

"Are you nuts?" Leorio growled.

"I just picked whatever Killua picked," Love held her hands up defensively before Leorio. "I never heard that rule either. I'm as ignorant as you!"

"Humph! Fine!" Leorio grumbled, his tail between his legs. "So we're naive, so what?"

They walked through the right tunnel in silence. The stroll was long, but they finally reached a dead end. The maze opened out into a large chamber that seemed to have no floor. In the middle of the chamber was an arena lit with torches. Across the room were five cloaked figures in chains. A camera next to them whirred around to one of the cloaked figures.

"The examinees are here," the mystery person spoke to the camera. "Unlock my handcufffs."

"Unlocking," the camera droned.

The metal cuffs on the cloaked figure fell off and clanked on the hard floor. The figure removed his cloak to reveal a muscular bald man with various scars on his head.

"The committee has selected us as your taskmasters!" the bald man shouted across the chamber to the five hunters-to-be. "My name is Bendot. You five will challenge the five of us. We will battle one-on-one, each going only once! Decide for yourselves the order you will go in. Win the majority of the matches-best of five-and you may pass. The rules of combat are simple: fight anyway that suits you. There will be no draws. To be declared the victor your opponent must admit defeat, or die. Will you accept this challenge? Vote now! O for yes; X for no!"

"Hah? Another freakin vote?!" Leorio shouted. "Do we have to do this every time? I've heard of voting early and often, but this is just ridiculous."

They all pressed the buttons on their wrist bands and the results appeared on the screen of a sign on the wall. O: 5, X: 0.

"You're on!" Leorio shouted over to the bald man. "Let's rumble!"

"Very good," the man stepped forward. "I'll take the opener. Pick your contender!"

The group of five examinees huddled together, whispering among themselves.

"Ok, who wants to take this guy?" Kurapica whispered.

"I don't really care who I fight," Killua shrugged indifference.

"Me neither," Gon agreed.

"Same here," Love chided in.

"I want the easiest one, and that definitely doesn't look like its him," Leorio gulped down a lump in his throat.

Everyone turned to him, eyes open in accusing half slits. "Weakling," they poked fun at Leorio all at once.

"Hey! I am not!" He rasped back.

Apparantly, Bendot was getting impatient because he yelled over. "Maybe the little blondie might wanna take a stab at it. Or the spiky-haired kid, or maybe even the little silver-haired one. He looks like he'd be fun to knock around."

Love's ear twitched. Her hands closed into fists as she broke away from the huddle, an ominous aura radiating from her.

"Anyone who touches Gon, I'll kill, however," she looked up, and her brown bangs no longer covered her fierce eyes. She was a totally different person. "ANYONE WHO TOUCHES KILLUA, I WILL TORTURE FOR ALL ETERNITY!!! YOU'RE ON, PUNK!!!"

The bald man smirked. A little bar of rock slowly made its way from beneath the five challengers of both sides over to the arena in the middle. "Only the contender may cross."

The brown-haired girl leapt onto the moving bar, but was too impatient for it to reach the arena and leapt the rest of the way there. Bendot waited to reach the arena and when they were both there, said, "How shall we do this? My choice would be a fight to the death. We go until one of us admits defeat, or dies."

The four at the other side of the chamber gasped. '_Surely, Love wouldn't agree to that,_' Killua thought to himself. '_She couldn't bear dying without me._'

"I wouldn't have it any other way," the girl declared back.

Killua looked up in surprise. _'Seriously?_'

"Just so you know," the girl pointed her finger at the bald man as her long brown hair whisped about her. "The name of your killer is Rage! Let's fight!"

"'Rage'?" Kurapica and Leorio wondered aloud. "But I thought her name was Stasy."

Killua and Gon looked over at each other, not sure if they should spill her secret or not. Gon nodded and then Killua sighed. "She has schizophrenia. There are nine personalities in all. The one you first met was Ecstasy. The one she was using until just recently was Love."

"That explains her clinging onto you," Leorio murmured.

"The one we see now is Rage," Killua frowned. "Only one of her bad personalities. Let's just hope Malevolence doesn't escape."

"Malevolence?" Kurapica asked, worried.

"She's given them all accurate names," Killua sighed as he leaned against the wall and looked up at the fight. "Malevolence, as you can guess, is the worst one."

Silence fell heavily upon the group and then they turned back to watch the fighting begin.

"Well, let's begin," Bendot lunged forth for the ready Rage.


	10. Third Exam: Part 2

**Third Exam: Part 2**

Brown hair zig-zagging back and forth like a copper head waiting to strike its prey. Rage charged ahead at the bruiser, Bendot, who also ran towards her. They collided in a fury of fists and kicks. Rage was holding out surprisingly well, considering she looked a third the size of the large-built man. He made for a punch, but Rage twirled out of the way, and his charging fist ran straight into the floor, creating a huge crack in its rocky surface.

"He certainly fights as strong as he looks," Kurapica gritted his teeth. "One hit with that punch and her little bones won't hold up."

"However, Rage is holding up surprisingly well," Leorio pointed out. "It seems like she's the one leading the match."

"She is dodging quite well," Kurapica admitted. "But you can't win a match with just dodging."

Kurapica was right, and Rage knew it. Dodging this bruisers attacks were getting redundant and she was in a firey hot mood and ready to kick some ass. She stopped as Bendot missed her once again. Her agile hands latched onto his shirt and she flung him over her head and slammed him into the floor. The crash echoed through the chambers as the spectators watched in awe of this small girl's surprising amount of strength. However, Bendot was not down for the count. He grabbed onto Rage's ankles, and pulled her feet out from under her. The bald man stood up holding Rage by her ankle.

"Ha ha ha ha!" he laughed briskly at the brown-haired girl's futile attempts to break free from his monsterous grip. "That was a nice move, but you can't beat me."

"We'll just see about that, Baldy," Rage grumbled, and she brought her fist back. It glowed brightly for a second before she shoved it into Bendot's stomach. He keeled over and in the act, dropped the girl. She fell to the floor, but got up again, standing victoriously before the man. "You're a hundred years too early to fight me, Mr. Clean," she declared viciously. "And a million years too early to even touch Killua!"

Bendot looked up and spit in her face. "Don't get on your high horse, brat!"

Rage's frame shook in anger. "HOW DARE YOU!!" She roared, picking him up by the collar and punching him squarely in the face, blood splattering on the floor. However, her anger was not yet satiated. She wanted more. More blood, more pain! She wanted this man to DIE! She punched him again and again and again, until her breathing became heavy and Bendot's face had swelled.

She was about to punch him one more time until she stopped mid-way, as if she had just woken up. She stared at the bald man's beaten face in horror until her quivering frame eventually dropped him and she ran away, screaming.

"I'm done! No more!" she cried neccesantly. "I admit defeat! He wins, just let me go back!"

The screen above the cloaked figures stage showed flicked to a number one and the bar paths came back. The sobbing girl ran back to the astonished group and she brushed past them and hid in the dark corner of the blocked doorway. Killua knelt down next to her. "What was up with that?" he whispered, almost annoyed.

"I..I nearly killed someone, Killua," she gasped through sobs. "I nearly took away someone else's life..again. I nearly..."

Killua sighed and stood up. He patted her back. "Just rest here, okay?" Then he walked back to the others, but didn't say a word.

Bendot slowly got up, wiping the blood off his face and chuckling, retreating back to his spot. "Two to go," he laughed. "And then you'll have no choice but to fail the exam."

The cloaked figures chuckled among themselves. One of them looked up to the camera. "I'm next. Cuffs off please."

The camera obeyed, and the dense pieces of metal fell to the floor. A thin man removed his cloak and looked over to the examinees. He had jaw-length, greasy black hair that covered his left eye, although his visible eye wasn't too pretty to look at.

"Listen up," Kurapica whispered to the others. "I overheard them. They have a real stake in this."

"They're actually prisoners?!" Leorio gasped after Kurapica explained to them.

"Yes," he replied. "And I surmise that the longer they hold us off, the more their sentences will be reduced."

"So who want's to go next?" Killua posed the question.

"Oh! Me! I'll go next!" Gon was nearly jumping with anticipation.

"You sure about that?" Killua asked.

"Yep!" Gon smiled broadly.

"You know," Killua shook his head. "As bad as I spell things out, you never blink. Does anything faze you?"

"Sure, but this next guy doesn't look so bad," Gon pointed out.

"Hmm...he's still a criminal, though," Killua sighed, glancing over at Gon's opponent. "He's no bruiser like the first guy, anyway. Take care, alright?"

Gon nodded his head and then made his way over to the arena.

"As you can see," the skinny-framed man gestured to himself. "I'm not much to look at. Strength, speed...they're not my thing."

"I'm not into 'em myself," Gon chatted idly with the serial bomber named Sedokan. "I like action over thinking."

"Do you, now?" Sedokan smiled. "Then here's a simple game that'll suit us both." The black-haired man whipped out two candles in his hands. "We each take one, light it and try to keep it lit. First one snuffed loses. How's that sound?"

"Simple enough," Gon perked. "Ok! I'm in! Let's do it."

"Good," Sedokan smiled. "Well then..." He removed his fingers to reveal that one candle was shorter than the other. "All of you pick a candle. As you see, you have a choice of sizes. Pick O for the long one and X for the short one. I'll wait."

"It's a trap!" Leorio rasped. "The long one is the obvious choice, but there's gotta be a catch."

"No doubt there is," Kurapica agreed. "Though the catch might be in picking the short one."

"That gets us no where fast!" Leorio sighed.

"I agree. What we have here is a 'disparate choice.' When someone is presented with an obviously biased choice, suspicion mounts and the decision making process seizes up. Moreover, the psychological impact of a wrong choice in this circumstance is much greater than in situations that seem genuinely random."

"Discuss it, kick it around," Sedokan told them as he sat on the ground idly. "Turn it inside out, examine every angle. There's no rush, believe me."

"Rats!" Leorio cursed. "He's got us."

"Gon! Listen!" Kurapica shouted over to the boy in green. "You decide! Choose a candle and then we'll vote accordingly. Second-guessing is useless, so we'll depend on your instincts."

"My choice, huh?" Gon looked over to Sedokan. "I pick the long candle."

"Are you sure?" the greasy-haired man asked.

"Of course! The long candle will burn the longest! It's a no-brainer."

The others looked at each other. "Oh well," Leorio gave in. "In for a penny, in for a pound." They all pressed the buttons on their wrist timers and the screen showed up a O: 5.

"Here you go," Sedokan tossed the white candle over to Gon. "Long one for you, short one for me. We light our candles at the same time."

They walked over to one of the four torches and lit their candles simultaneously. The game begins! They stood their for some odd minutes, each candle wavering in the drafty air of the chamber. Both opponents had to keep a close eye on their candle. But suddenly! Gon's candle starting flaring up, burning brightly.

"No regular candle does that!" Leorio shouted with indignation. "It's been spiked with an accelerant! It's already down to a stub! It'll only last a couple of minutes. The long one was the wrong choice after all."

'_Wrong_,' Sedokan giggled to himself. '_I had _four_ candles. The 'disparate choice' was just a way of hiding my real trap. You assumed _one _would be a trick candle. In assuming that, you also assumed the other would be safe. What you didn't know was that I had an oil-soaked one of each length._'

Gon smirked at Sedokan, which confused the ex-bomber. The little boy set his candle down on the floor. "This is burning so fiercely, it'd take a hurricane to blow it out."

Sedokan was only allowed a small gulp before Gon zoomed across and appeared in an instant in front of the skinny man and he blew out his candle with a simple breath of air. "Heehee! I win!" Gon held up two fingers in a V for victory.

Sedokan stared at the little boy in surprise as the screen above Kurapica and the others flicked over to 1.


	11. Third Exam: Part 3

**Third Exam: Part 3**

"Good job!" Leorio shouted to Gon as they were reunited. "We now have one victory, and as we can count on Kurapica's and my victory, we'll surely win!"

They high-fived, but they had to stop their jubiliation for now, because it was Kurapica's turn now. He walked over to the arena to wait his opponent. Just as they were about to grow impatient a massive figure came in Kurapica's way. His opponent was huge, but looked like something from _Frankenstein_. His patched up head was bald, except for a ring of hair around his head and he sported only three teeth. There were wires growing out of his neck and bolts on his chin. He was just as muscular, or even more than Bendot. And on his left pec were multiple heart tattoos.

"I've already killed 19 people," he told Kurapica, pointing to the heart tattoos. "I don't really like that number, so I'm happy."

"Oh crap," Leorio held his tail between his legs, but don't be fooled, he doesn't really have a tail. "A serial killer this time."

"For me," the zombie freak continue his monlogue, "the only things that excite me are the fights in which we risk our lives. I need blood! Ripped bodies! Pain!"

"That's ok for me," Kurapica said flat-out, which the beast wasn't expecting. "If you would simply decide the fight's rules..."

"Hmm-oh, yes," the freak cleared his throat. "Here's what I suggest: A fight to the death! We fight until the other admits defeat or is dead. However, supposing you fail during the fight, I can't guarantee I won't stop hitting."

"Ok, fine for me," Kurapica sighed impatiently.

The freak was off-set by his uncaring attitude. This guy was treating him like a trivial task! Normal people would be afraid just by the looks of him, but after all he's said, this guys still doesn't care.

"Shall we start?" Kurapica suggested as he took off his pancho. (Well, that's what it is.)

"Wait! I forgot something," the freak held up his hand. "We can't use weapons. This is a fist fight. Even if we're members of the jury, we're still prisoners. We're not allowed to use weapons."

"I see," Kurapica murmured. He threw down an assortment of weapons. "Anything else? If not, I would like to start."

"Huh? Uh..yeah," the weirdo stuttered. "Let the combat begin!!"

The semi-haired man leapt into their and then slammed his right fist down at Kurapica, who dodged it. However, as he made this move, he saw something extrodinary. On the man's back was...

"A twelve-legged spider?" Leorio wondered. "It couldn't be..."

"Heeheheh," the patched-up freak giggled. '_Anyone who wants to become a hunter must've at least heard of this organization at least once. The worst group of criminals in all history: The Phantom Brigade!_

"Well, you're pretty damn silent now, aren't you?" the freak chuckled at Kurapica's stunned silence. "I'm Majitani, one of four kings of the Brigade. Take my first attack for some kind of introduction. If you wish to renounce the fight, now's the time, because at this moment, I'm still..."

He trailed off as an ominous air from Kurapica shut his trap. Kurapica's eyes were...glowing a bright and beautiful red. In a flash, Kurapica grasped Majitani's face and before the Brigade member could protest, smashed his face into the ground.

"3 things," Kurapica said through crimson eyes. "1. On the real sign, the member's number is written on the center of the spider. 2. They've already killed so much people that it'd be impossible to count the number. 3. Don't ever usurp the name of that brigade, because next time, I'll kill you without hesitation."

His eyes faded back to their natural blue color and he replaced his pancho onto his shoulders.

"A-are you ok, Kurapica?" Leorio touched the situation lightly as the blonde boy retreated to their stage.

"Yes, I've understood since the beginning that I didn't risk anything against him and that the tattoo was a fake, but after seeing that spider, I've been seeing everything in red. In fact, this happens each time I see a simple spider. I lose my mind and become unrecognisable.This certainly meens that my hatred hasn't gone away. I should be delighted."

Despite his words, an eerie gloom hung around Kurapica, and it was similar to Melancholy's over in the far corner. "This place just gets more and more depressing the farther we get into this exam," Leorio noted. "Well, I'm gonna end it! And hurry picking his body up! I'm waiting for the next prisoner."

"Heheh, that's not possible," one of the remaining cloaked figures said. "Because the match hasn't ended yet."

"What?"

The cloaked figure walked over to Majiani's still body. "He's only fainted. You chose a death match. The combat should've lasted until one of them dies or quits! He's still alive and I've never heard him say he quits."

"Bah!" Leorio grumbled. "Kurapica, end it with him and let's get this over with."

"No."

"What?" Leorio flicked his head around to glare at the silent blonde boy.

"For me the game is over, he sighed. "I hit my adversary while he had renounced fighting. I can't hit a man unconcious."

"You're kidding?" Leorio grouched. "In that case, what do you want to do?"

"Depends on him," Kurapica sighed. "If he regains conciousness, then we'll talk about it. But don't count on me to do anything more."

"If you want," Killua suggested. "I can kill him for you. You've never killed anyone before, have you? You scared?"

Kurapica looked up at him. "I've never asked myself if killing somebody would scare me or not. Moreover, its a fight between him and me. I don't need you're help."

"I remind you, you're not alone here!" Killua pointed out. "It's not the time to be egotistic."

"Right!" Leorio added. "Think a little of others!"

"Sorry, but I don't want to change my opinion," Kurapica remained steadfast.

"It's useless," Killua sighed.

"His adversary was on his way to admit he's lost," Gon chimed in. "We just have to wait till he wakes up."

"Fine! I understand! Do as you wish!" Leorio pouted as he sat in another corner and joined the depressed group.

"He's sulking," Gon sighed.


	12. Third Exam: Part 4

**Third Exam: Part 4**

"We'd like to go and see if he's still alive," Leorio shouted over to the prisoners. "How would we know if he opened an eye or something?"

"I told you," the cloaked figure retaliated. "He just fainted."

"It's already been several hours," Leorio pointed out. "We can't be content with what you're telling us."

"In that case, would you like to bet? Is he dead or alive? Let's bet on it."

"Bet? What are we betting on?"

"Time," the cloaked prisoner said. "We're betting, and the winner receives time. Look at the screen."

Everyone turned to the giant black screen on the wall. On it were the numbers fifty and fifty. "We can bet up to fifty hours and the minimum is ten hours.Game's over when one of the players reaches zero. We decide the bet each in turn. If you lose, the time you have to escape the tower will be reducded by 50 hours. If I lose, my sentence will be increased by 50 years. If you accept the game, I'll let you check to see if he's alive or not."

"It's a girl's voice," Leorio said to the others. "She's insane, ready to bet her prison sentence."

"Don't trust her, Leorio," Kurapica warned. "If you lost, we would only have 9 hours to exit the tower."

"You're the one saying this?!" Leorio growled. "Might I remind you that you're the reason we're in this mess!"

"I understand," Kurapica grudgingly sat back down. "I won't say anything more."

"Stop!" Gon shouted. "This isn't the time for argueing!"

"That's ok," Leorio turned to the prisoners. "I accept!"

"As I decided the bet, I'll let you choose the stake in hours," the prisoner replied.

"I bet 10 hours he's alive!" Leorio stated.

"You're prudent," Kurapica sighed.

"That's normal isn't it?" Leorio snapped back. '_If I lose this bet, that will mean he's dead and Kurapica's victorious. However, if I had bet he's dead and he just fainted, I would've gained nothing._'

"We're gonna let you check," the prisoner said.

The foot bridges connecting the stages and the arena opened up and Leorio climbed over to the arena. He knelt down and checked the big guy's pulse.

"As you see," the prisoner said. "He's only fainted."

The screen changed from 50/50 to 40/60.

"Yeah! Leorio has taken the lead!" Gon cheered.

"I don't like this," Killua mumbled. "It's strongly possible that he won't open his eyes for a very long time. For them its more interesting if he's alive, lying down on the ground. If he lies there the remainder of the time, their sentences will be reduced by 72 years."

"Your turn now," the prisoner spoke to Leorio. "Chose the next bet."

"Has he really fainted or not?" Leorio posed the question. "This is the bet."

Meanwhile, Majitani squirmed in his place. '_What should I do? Bendot told me to feign unconciousness. Do I keep pretending or not?_'

"Ok, I bet 20 hours he's still unconcious," the prisoner replied. "But how are you going to check?"

"That's easy," Leorio said as he picked up the big freak and hauled him to the edge. He propped the man up, holding him from falling only with his foot and hand. "I'll let him fall. If he's really fainted, he'll die from the fall."

"Are you serious?" the prisoner protested. "Might I remind you that the last match isn't over yet? Such a method won't be accepted!"

"Don't worry," Leorio spoke. "If he dies, we'll admit Kurapica's defeat. You'll have 2 victories on your own. Any objections?"

"No, that's okay," the prisoner sighed. "But in that case, I'm making a change. I'm betting 40 hours that he'll open his eyes."

"Here we are," Leorio smirked. "You're showing you're true face. Well, I release him."

"WAIT, NO!!" Majitani shouted, scrambling in to the middle of the arena. "DON'T RELEASE ME!!! I DON'T WANT TO DIE!!! You're dumb and I'm silly to mix with you! It's ok! I've lost! I feel more secure in jail!" He ran back to the stage and to safety.

"You knew he would wake up," the prisoner stated.

"So did you," Leorio countered. "Even if I'm just a cadet doctor, I can still tell if he's fainted by his eye movement."

The screen changed to 80/20.

"You only have 20 hours left," the prisoner mentioned.

"Yes, but now the score is 2 to 1," Leorio smirked. "You're turn, what do you want to bet on?"

The prisoner removed her cloak to reveal a stunningly beautiful woman with pink hair in pig-tails. "Let's bet on my gender: male or female?"

"I-I'm okay with this, but if I fail," Leorio gulped, his face sweaty. "How will you prove this to me?" 

"With my body," she smirked. "You're free to auscultate me for as much as you like."

"That Leorio," Kurapica sighed. "He's gonna pick male."

"Yes," Killua sighed also.

"What?" Gon was clueless.

"Let's go, Leorio declared. "I bet 10 hours you're a male!"

"There we are," Kurapica shook his head.

"Such a pervert," Killua condescended.

"Sorry, but I'm female," the prisoner said.

"Seriously?"

"You wanna check?"

"For...for sure!" Leorio wiped his saliva from his face.

(INTERMISSION)

Leorio hugged his warm hand. A defeat without regret.

"You're turn," the prisoner chimed.

"Whatever, I'll just use my luck!" Leorio declared with a fist in the air. "We'll be on Rock-Paper-Scissors!"

"Ok, then," the pisoner said immeadiatly. "I bet 80 hours I'll win."

"Wha?" Leorio was stifled. '_How can she be so confident in _this _game?_'

The prisoner girl smiled haughtily. '_This is only a question of probability and psychology. If we just look at the probability I have a 2-3 chance of winning, that's a 70 chance of victory. And more to the statisitcs, you can add psychology. Statistically, the hand's position that shows most often the first time is 'scissors'._'

"Rock, Paper, Scissors!!"

They both held "rocks" out. A draw.

"Rock...Paper..."

"SCISSORS!!"

They stared at each other, the prisoner girl with her "paper" and Leorio with his "rock". Leorio had lost.

"End of the game! Hours ran out: Defeat of Leorio!!"

"He lost to the game's bet, but over all we've lost 50 hours," Kurapica stated the obvious.

"How much time do they still have left?" Bendot asked the examiner through the camera.

"9 hours, 45 minuts, and 36 seconds," the examiner replied.

"That means the time they have left is lower than 10 hours," Bendot smiled.

"No matter," the last cloaked figure said. "The death of my next adversary is emminent."

"Well, the only one left is me," Killua whistled happily, walking to the arena.

"Damn!" Leorio cursed. "I definitly had to win so that we'd go on. Kurapica, Gon, I'm sorry."

"Gon, this guy is seriously starting to irritate me," Killua growled. "You're giving up on me before we've seen my aderversary or his skills. If he gives me a problem with mental calculation, I can't tell, but..."

The cloaked figure came forth and flung the hood off. He was a tall, and muscular built man. His brown hair was ruffled and he had a neatly cut mustache. His eyes were deep and he had a sad look on his face.

Leorio gasped in horror.

"You know him?" Gon asked.

"Killua," Leorio quivered. "Forget about the victory just don't fight him. His name is Jones the Cutter, he's the worst murderer in all of Zaban's criminality. He follows no logic in his murders and all of his victims are left in shreds by his hands. He's killed 146 people and cut them into at least 50 different parts. And this man has always acted only with his hands."

"It's been a long time since I've felt human flesh," Jones creeped everyone out with his words.

"You don't have to fight against such a monster," Leorio consoled Killua. "After all, this exam takes place every year."

Killua was unaffected by the ghost story, however, and waltzed to the arena. "How will we fight?"

"Fight?" Jones laughed. "I don't think you understand. This is a one-way massacre! I don't care about this exam and also of this amnesty; all I want is to touch flesh! Concerning you, just cry and shout. That will be enough."

"Ok," Killua shrugged. "You think it's better dying than losing, don't you?"

"Yes, and you're gonna-"

His words were taken out of his mouth...literally. Killua, in a flash, had removed Jones' heart and held it in his bloody hands, smiling.

"G-gimmee..." Jones stuttered before Killua crushed his heart, blood splattering everywhere, which somehow, inevitably, killed him, although I should think having his heart ripped out alone would kill him.

"There, 3 to 2," Killua spoke to Bendot, who appeared to be the leader of this charade. "I suppose with this, we can go, can't we?"

"Yes, you've won," Bendot submitted. "Passing through here, you'll arrive in a small room. You'll have to spend 50 hours there. That's the amount of time you've lost."

"Ok," Killua shrugged as he walked back to the group, hands in pockets.

"Him...where does he come from?" Leorio opened agape.

"Ah, it's true, you don't know," Gon mused.

So he told them.

"Well, shall we go?" Killua smiled at them.

They merely stared agape.


	13. End of Third Exam

**End Of Third Exam**

_50 hours later..._

"Come on guys, we have to hurry!" Leorio shouted to the gang.

They finally reached an end to the path only to end up back at the arena with Jones' body still laying on the floor. "Runinng 30 minutes just to come back here," Leorio was crest-fallen.

"Should've gone downstairs," Killua merely shrugged.

"This majority rule is going to kill us before we ever make it half-way down," Mel sighed.

"Come on, we've still got eight hours left!" Gon promoted optmism as they made their way back to the stairs.

They suffered various traps from the Majority Rules law that was limiting them and frustrating everyone, even Melancholy. Finally, they reach a door. As expected by now, there was a sign above the steel door reading:

_Open this door?_

_O for_ yes

X for no

Everyone immeadiatly pressed O and it swung open. It opened out into another room, but this time, there were two large steel doors, with a statue of the upper half of some goddess in between them. On the left was the X, on the right was the O. A sign below the Goddess read:

_Last Junction. _

_Now is the time for your last choice._

_Are you ready to be acknowledged of it? _

"Ready?" Leorio exasperated. "Does this question really matter?" They made their decision. O: 4, X: 1.

Suddenly the Goddess' mouth opened and more than likely a speaker from within spoke these words. "Choose one of the two doors. There's two roads: The first allows 5 people to go but its long and difficult. The second only allows 3 people but its short and easy. Concretely, it's impossible, even hurrying to exit the first road in less than 45 minutes. Taking the second one, you reach the end in 3 minutes. Push O for the long and difficult way, push X for the short and easy way. If you push on X, the door will open when 2 of you agree to be prisoners until time runs out."

"Well, its better to tell you this now," Leorio sighed. "I'll push on X, without having any intention of stayin' here. No matter the way, I'll be one of the three that goes on. The judges have planned everything. They prepared weapons from all over the world on these walls. They want us to choose by fighting."

"I'll push on O," Gon told everyone. "We came here together so I want us to exit together."

"Gon," Leorio muttered.

"Even if that's risky," Gon continued. "My choice will be the same."

"That's not only risky, that's impossible," Killua argued. "We don't even have an hour. We have no other choice than the short way. The question is who's gonna pass. Obviously, I count on being one who'll pass. So if none of us have the intention of giving up, I see the only solution by combat."

Everyone looked at each other as feelings of suspicion rose up. Silence fell heavy on everyone before Gon broke the silence.

"I've got a plan," he raised his hand as if he were in school. "Why don't we just pick the long way and then bust through the wall to the short way?"

Everyone looked at each other in stunned silence.

"Gon, you're a genius!" Kurapica cheered in delight. "That's a great idea! Come on everybody! Press O!"

Everyone gave a loud cheer as they mashed the button on their wrist timers. The door on the right swung open and they eagerly ran in side, but looked over to the left. Kurapica put his hand on the wall and knocked it. "This wall must be at least two meters thick," he said. "How are we supposed to get through this?"

"I've got an idea," Leorio smirked. He dug into his pocket and pulled out a photo of Killua sleeping soundly. "Look what I've got here!"

Melancholy perked up from her sulking. She leapt at the speed of light, reaching for the photo, which she snatched from Leorio's waiting fingers and crashed through the wall.

"Where did you get that?!" Killua shouted, red in the face.

"I downloaded it from the official Killua Fangirls Website," Leorio laughed evilly.

"Stop fooling around, guys," Kurapica chastised them as he climbed through the whole in the wall. Gon had already hopped through and helped the unconcious girl up. "We don't have time for that!"

The two boys rolled their eyes and hopped through the hole also.

They arrived in the finish room with only a minute left to go. They fell on the floor, catching their breath, but Stasy was already at the other side of the room.

"ASPARAGUS-NII!" she squealed, already latched onto the annoyed magician. "It feels like its been forever!! I missed you!!!"

"I didn't miss you, though," Hisoka sighed.

"TIMES UP!!" A speaker box on the wall shouted. "Third Round, Number of participants who have reached the goal: 24!"

A door on the east corner of the room opened swiftly, and the examinees filed out into the open air. The bright sunlight blinded the participants for a while before their eyes adjusted to the outside air. They stood on a cliff with a short man near the edge, smiling at them. He had only a tuft of black hair sticking up on his head and large, round glasses to conceal his thin eyes. His attire consisted of a simple button up shirt and trousers with brown loafers.

"Congratulations to all of you for exiting the tower," he announced. "You have only two more trials: the fourth Round and the Final Round. The Fourth Round will take place on Zebiru's island. Well! Let's hurry!" He snapped his fingers. A bald man brought out a decorative box with a single hole at the top.

"A Lottery?" one examinee questioned. "What for?"

"To determine the hunter's and their prey," the examiner answered. "Inside the box are 24 numbered cards. These numbers are each persons Examinee Number that you were given at the beginning of the exam. You will all pick a card. We will begin the selection in the order from who finished the Third Exam first and so forth."

Hisoka detached Stasy from himself and walked to the box and selected a card. They all continued, with Stasy being the last. Everyone looked nervously at their number on their card and suspiciously at everyone else, wondering which of these participants could have their number.

"Everyone has a card?" the examiner asked. "Good. Now, you're personal number and the one you have just picked have been recorded into this machine." He patted the lottery box. "Consequently, you're free to do whatever you want with this card. The participant corresponding to the number you've picked becomes your target from now until the end of the 4th exam. What you have to grab is the numeral sheet of your target. If you succeed in taking their number, you get 3 points! If you keep your own number, that's another three points. The others are just one point. You need 6 points at the end to pass, all within the time limit."

Just as he finished, another, high-pitched, female, voice chimed in. "All aboard, everybody!"

Everyone looked over the edge of the cliff to see a flight of stairs leading downwards towards a harbor and an awaiting boat. On the boat, the source of the noise was waving happily at the curious hunters-to-be.

* * *

"Well, you have two hours until you reach Zebiru's island," a peechy girl in a pink shirt with the Hunter's logo on it said cheerfully, despite the intense atmosphere. "You can spend it however you want! See ya!" She walked off, and the examinees were left in their suspicion.

Gon sat near the edge of the boat, looking out to sea. He turned his view to his left when Killua came by.

"Yo!" He greeted his friend. "Which number did you pick?"

"What about you?" Gon parried.

"Secret!" Killua smiled.

They smiled at each other in nervous silence.

"Don't worry," Killua sighed. "My number isn't 405."

"And mine isn't 99," Gon answered back.

"We count up to three and we show our sheets," Killua decided.

Gon nodded. "1..."

"...2..."

"...3!"

They simultaneously flipped their cards over. Gon had number 44, and Killua had 105. "Wow, you've got some bad luck, getting Hisoka," Killua whistled.

"And you, who'se number is that?" Gon looked at his card.

"You don't know either?" Killua sighed. "How could I've remembered everyone's number? After the judge's explanation, I looked around me, but everyone had already hidden their cards by th-huh?" He stopped as he saw the fierce expression on Gon's face. He was smiling and quivering all at the same time. "You're happy? Or you're afraid?"

"Maybe both," Gon sighed. "If it was a classical confrontation I could never envision winning, but since I only have to steal his number, that means there's still a way. Even I have a little luck, but thinking about it doesn't reassure me. I have a revenge to take."

"Well, we won't let the others worry us," Killua said, getting up. "Try to stay alive, Gon." He skated away on his board.

Once Killua was out of sight, Gon turned to his other side as a dark figure came out from it's hiding spot. "You only got to be Stasy for a few moments before Fate turned on you," Gon smiled piteously.

"Thanks for not ratting me out, Gon," Melancholy muttered, not looking at the boy, but at the floor.

"No problem," Gon smiled sympathetically. "I'm sorry that you had to get Killua's number."

"I..." Mel sniffed as the waterworks came down. "I..don't know what to do, Gon. I'm..scared. I don't want to go against Killua, but if I don't, I will fail the exam, and I'll probably never see him again. I only have a short time left until we'll all have to split up."

"Don't worry, Mel," Gon reassured her. "You can still get three other people's plates."

"Even I'm not that strong, Gon," Mel chuckled bitterly through her tears. "Supposing I _did _manage to capture three number sheets, that would mean three more hunters after me, not counting the one who has my plate. I don't think I can last until the end of the Exam."

"Then maybe you should wait a while," Gon suggested. "Scope out the others till you find three you know you can take down. Then, when the moment is right, you strike, and only have to fend yourself off for a little while."

"That..sounds good,:" Mel smiled pathetically. "Hey, you want to be partners? I'll help you with Hisoka."

"Nah," Gon refused. "I don't want to get you hurt, plus...I want to get him on my own."

The girl smiled fondly at the boy, her tears wiped away. "Thanks, lil' bro," she smiled as she ruffled his hair affectionately. "I want to remain as Stasy for the time being. I need a positive outlook now more than ever. Let's make a promise..." she held out her little pinky finger "to meet each other again at the Final Round."

Gon stared at her pinky, before he smiled and interlocked it with his own. "Promise."


	14. Fourth Exam: Part 1

**Fourth Exam: Part 1**

"Please leave the boat in order of arrival at the bottom of the tower in the third round!" the young female examiner spoke over a mic to the examinees as the ship harbored on the shore of Zebiru's island. "An interval of two minutes will seperate each candidate leaving the boat. You'll stay exactly one week on the island. That's the time you have to get the six points and to come back here. Now, will the first candidate depart, please."

Hisoka grinned confidently while he walked off the boat and onto the jungle island. Civilization was unknown to this speck of land since trees were as common as the water surrounding it and as plentiful as the animals that occupied it inside, but they could always make room for a few more animals. One after the other, the hunters left the boat and ran into the woods. Stasy waved farewell to Leorio as he hopped into the forest and left her alone on the boat with the examiners. Her energetic smile fell once he was out of sight.

"Alright, you may go now," the examiner chick told the brown-haired girl.

"Are you going to remain here in harbor for the entire week?" she asked the examiner.

"Not docked, no, but we will hoist anchor farther out to sea," she replied.

"I see, then I'll just hang around the beach," she sighed sitting down on the hot sand.

"But you-"

"I'm the last one. My hunter is waiting for me in there. He's probably already set traps. Two hours just wasn't enough rest for me, and I am not satisfied with the number I picked, so I've been really stressed lately. I need to take a breather. I hope you don't mind if I just sleep here."

"Umm...not at all," the lady looked at her, unsure of the situation.

'_After my nap, I'll go find some food,_' the auburn girl mused as she dozed off. '_Then I'll go search for the best prey. I need to find out who their prey is and who's targetting them. I don't want to steal the plate of someone powerful, or that would just be causing problems for myself. Then after a day or two of gathering information, I'll set up traps accordingly and capture the number cards. After that, I high-tail it here, and get ready to fend off anyone who might want my sheets. That seems like the best way._'

* * *

Stasy opened her eyes rejuvenated and renewed. She stretched her arms in the air and got ready for a new day. She picked up her stack of fruits she had gathered yesterday after her nap. She took a bite out of a nice, juicy, blue kulkoo fruit, native to these parts. Its sweet and tangy flavor woke her up.

"Now, time to find out what I've been missing!" she cheered happily and leapt eagerly into the forest.

She wondered around for a while before she finally came upon an interesting scene. She saw three teenage boys surrounding none other than Killua. Then, in a flash, Killua was running up a tree and before they knew it, he was behind the boy wearing the beanie.

"Hmm, he's #197," Killua looked at the number plate he stole. "Let me confess: in these sort of situations I have no intuition." He looked up at the biggest of the brothers. "You're number 199, aren't you?"

"I am," the big guy grudgingly replied.

"Would you mind handing over your number plate?"

He grumbled, but tossed the number over. Killua caught it with ease and released the beanie brother. "Thank you," he looked down at the number sheet of number 197. "And since I don't need this one..." he chunked the number card into the air and it flew for miles. The brothers looked up hopelessly as their hope was thrown away. "And maybe this one this way!" He tossed number 198. "You have five days to find them. Good luck! See ya!" He ran off, kicking his heels with glee.

Stasy ran to intercept her love. "Did you have to toss them like that?" she asked, distraught.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't know you were there," Killua apologized. "Well, you can still go find them."

"Not with how you tossed them," Stasy rolled her eyes. "They probably bumped some poor, unsuspecting examinee by now. Nah, I'll just go find some other people who have no hope in this round."

"By 'other people', you're implying that you're after multiple people," Killua inferenced. "Why aren't you going after your target?"

Stasy froze, but her smile remained. "No, he's way out of my league."

"Out of _your _league? Who is it?"

"I...I can't tell you that," Stasy muttered, still smiling though her insides were wriggling uncontrollably.

"Fine, whatever," Killua shrugged. "Well, I'm set, so I'm gonna wait near the finish line. See ya around."

"Yeah, see ya around," Stasy waved goodbye with a perky grin, contrasting her crest-fallen feelings inside.

* * *

After nearly a day of tracking and recording numerous people, Stasy finally came up with a plan. #371, Gozu, had stolen #89, Shishito's, number. However, Gozu was #34, Ryu's, target, so Ryu might inevitably end up with all three of them. So she waited in silence, stalking her prey every second while also keeping close tabs on his prey also. She tried her best to bring their meeting to pass. Two days have passed.

On the third day, Ryu found Gozu and they fought, however, it was Ryu who lost the battle, not Gozu as Stasy had predicted. This didn't put a stop to her plan, however. While Gozu lay in a shady recluse, recovering from his injuries from the battle with Ryu, Stasy pounced. She granted him no time to react, knocking him unconcious in one clean hit. Now she had gained three other number sheets without breaking a sweat.

"Man, I'm a genius," she complimented herself as she wiped the sweat off her forehead. A russle came from behind and Stasy flung around. No one was there, however her curiousity had not been satiated. She crept along through the trees and soon came into a line of bushes. In her line of vision was none other than Hisoka. '_Asparagus-nii?_' However, there was someone else with him. She recognized the clothes, but not the face. The stranger wore the same queer purple clothing as #301, Gitarakuru, but the face was not that same charming, bolted face as from when she last saw on the boat. For one, he didn't have pins in his head and he had hair. Long, black, gorgeous hair. However, the rest of the face was near average, excluding those cold eyes. Stasy knew these eyes. They were the same eyes she had seen on Killua when he was thirsting for blood. Assassin's eyes.


	15. End of Fourth Exam

**End of Fourth Exam**

"In a while, the fourth Round of the trials will end," speaker announced to the entire world. "All participants are to come back to the starting point of the test. The participants must make themselves known in the time of one hour. After that, the one's who haven't shown up will be disqualified. Please pay close attention to this information. Tags stolen from now on will not be counted! Verifications will be made, and people who break these rules will be disqualified."

Stasy had already traveled to the starting point and was merely waiting for the other examinees to arrive. Surprisingly, sitting out in the open on the beach didn't leave her a sitting duck as much would expect. She wasn't attacked once. She cashed in her number sheets, giddy at passing, but more giddy at passing with Killua. "My love, this means we shall be together for another round!" she exclaimed but was only met with a punch in the face. Killua had gotten better at blocking her glomps and other signs of affection.

"I don't care if you're in your other personalities," Killua sighed with annoyance. "However, I cannot tolerate Love!"

"Aww, but, sweety..." Love pleaded.

"NO!" Killua shouted with anger and his eyes widened into a death stare.

"Killua," Gon said from behind the two fighting. "You don't know how much this means to her. Let her remain as Love at least until the next round begins."

"But Goooooooon!" Killua whined. "She's been pestering me ever since we met and I'm sick of it! I just don't want my personal space invaded."

"Killua," Gon sighed again, and then moved closer and lowered his voice so that only the silver-haired boy could hear. "She picked your number."

The assassin boy's eyes widened and he stared at the bright girl who ran over to his best friend. '_She...picked my number...and yet...she never made the attempt to take mine._'

"Oh, Gon!" Love cried as she strangled the poor boy in a tight hug. "Oh my sweet little Gon! I love you like a brother! You're plan worked! It worked! Becuase of you, I can remain here longer with my friends and the love of my life! I'm so happy!"

"She couldn't be happy if she were already a hunter," Kurapica chuckled as he and Leorio joined the gang.

"I hate to interrupt this love fest," Leorio said, pointing to the airship that already held the other examinees, "but we need to get on that ship, or they'll leave us here."

"Right," Love apologized.

* * *

On the blimp, the examinees lounged about, well, some of them lounged, anyway.

"What kind of test do you think the last exam is?" Leorio posed the question to the little group of rookies that sat in a circle in the middle of the room.

"Who knows," Kurapica shrugged. "I heard this next test is to be devised by the Chairman himself."

"Do you think it's a written test?" Gon fretted. "I'm not really good with written tests."

"Yeah, me neither," Leorio added.

"Heh," Apathy snorted. "I don't think anyone here is good with written tests."

"Hey, are you trying to say something?" Pokkuru stood up suddenly.

"I'm trying to say you're all a bunch of idiots," Apathy sighed, leaning against a wall.

"Why you!" Pokkuru growled.

"Don't get so heated up over her words," Killua sighed. "Fighting now won't do any of us any good."

"Don't act so cool, boy!" Apathy rolled her eyes. "Just because you gained the favor of the other seven, doesn't mean I'll go along with this quietly. I see no profit in befriending you. Any of you, with the exception of Hisoka of course." The girl smirked as she walked by the magician who merely ignored her. All this hot-headed-ness was going to get him worked up if he paid attention to what they were saying.

"What is your obsession with that freak?" Killua shouted, standing up also. "All you ever talk about is that guy! If you ask me, he's the one you're truly in love with!"

"Well at least he doesn't push me away all the time, like you do," Apathy rose her nose into the air. "Plus, it's good to have a powerful ally. Sorry, boy, but Hisoka could kick your ass any day."

Killua was shaking with fury. "Fine!" he shouted, turning away and kicking open the door. "I'm outta here!"

"Good riddance!" Apathy sighed exaggeratedly. "Right Hisoka?"

The magician looked up. He had only come in the middle of the fight but he could still grasp what was going on. "Really?" he questioned her, bemused. "Then why are you crying?"

"I'm not crying!" she retaliated, wiping the tears from her eyes. "It's all that stupid Melancholy's fault! She's always doing this!"

"Stasy," Kurapica led her to the side. "I know you're a little ticked that Killua didn't appreciate your efforts to spare him and go through all the trouble of getting three other tags, but you need to calm down. There's actually a bright side to all of this."

"What?" she laughed bitterly.

"Killua was angry at you for caring too much about Hisoka," he smiled as he whispered to her, like he was sharing a juicy secret. "That means he was jealous."

"Killua was jealous?" Stasy reiterated.

"Yeah, I think you should go apologize to him," Kurapica suggested quietly. "Your mood swings caused you to act like a..."

"Like an ass?" Stasy finished his sentence with a light chuckle.

"Yes, exactly. Reconcile with him. After that, you might have the chance to score some points with him while his emotional defenses are down."

Their conversation was interrupted by a voice on the loud speaker. "In a while, the Chairman will receive you for a conversation. When you're called, please come to the first reception room of the first floor. Candidate number 406. We ask that you please come to the reception room."

"Ah, that will have to wait for later," Stasy said to Kurapica. "See ya!"

Stasy jogged to the reception room to find the old manin his burnt orange clothes sitting at an old Japanese style table with a bit of paper. There was a pillow opposite the table in which the Chairman motioned for her to sit.

"Is this the last round?" Stasy asked nervously.

"I wouldn't say there's no relation," the old man replied. "I'd like to ask you a few questions. Above all, why do you want to become a hunter?"

"I'm searching for what I believe to be the greatest treasure," Stasy answered with a smile. She had gone through this topic so many times, but it never bored her. This was her life, after all. "Hunters do seek treasures after all, so this title would benefit me in my search."

"Oh really? And what is this great treasure?"

"Family," Stasy smiled fondly at the word. "A place with people in where I belong."

"Don't you already have that with some of the other rookies?" the man countered.

"Yes, but we'll have to part once the exam is over, won't we? I can't follow him forever."

"Well, then, on to the next question," the old man continued. "Among the eight other candidates, which retains most of your attention."

"Oh, #99 by far!" Stasy replied immeadiatly. "He's so hott! But besides him, it would have to be Asparagus-nii, I mean, number 44. He's strong and I'd like to see what all he's capable of."

"And last question," the old man pursued, "Among he other eight participants, who do you want to fight against the least?"

"Number 99!" Stasy cried out exasperantly. "Oh, I am unable of harming a single hair on his heavenly body! I'd rather kill myself than think of deforming his beautiful complexion!"

"Thank you," the old man said absent-mindedly. "You may go now."

Stasy stood up and walked out of the room. '_Well, that was simple enough. I wonder what the Last Round will be like._'


	16. Last Exam: Part 1

**Last Exam: Part 1**

The Last Round had finally come, but Stasy still hadn't apologized to Killua for her absurd behavior the other day. He appeared to be avoiding her, and stealing Gon from her as well. Everytime they encountered each other, Killua would nonchalantly guide Gon somewhere else. It left Mel in a terrible mood for the opening of the first round. They were led to a large ballroom with slick tile floors. All the examiners were there including a few extra tough looking men in black suits and dark sunglasses.

"I hope everyone has rested well," the chairman spoke to the group. "We are here in a hotel managed by the committee. Until the end of the final round, this place will be yours. The last trial will be in the form of duels of one versus one. The groups are the following." He pulled a blanket off of a board with tournament line ups with everyone's number on there. "And now the rules on this last round. It's very simple. One victory and you pass the exam! In other words, in this tournament, winners quit the game one by one. The principle to this tournament is to designate the loser, not the winner. Do you understand?"

"So there will be only one elimenated?" Hanzo asked.

"Exactly!" the old man exclaimed. "Consequently, each person has two opportunities to win. The rules to the fight are simple. Weapons are allowed, and pushing your opponent to quit gives you victory. However, if you kill your adversary, you'll be disqualified. So if that happens, the only disqualified candidate will be designated and the exam will end."

"On that note, let's begin the first match," one of the men in black announced as he stepped forward. "Hanzo versus Gon! I'll be the referee of the match. Good luck."

The little boy walked towards the tall bald ninja. Gon looked so helplessly tiny compared to the expert killer. However, his face was still full of confidence. "Go Gon!" Stasy cheered enigmatically. "You show him who's boss!"

"Stasy, you're awfully loud," Kurapica whispered to her.

"Well, I've got to cheer on my cute little brother!" she replied with a smile and continued to cheer.

The two opponents looked at each other. "BEGIN!" Gon immeadiatly dashed to the left, however, Hanzo followed him up in a milisecond.

"I see that you're pretty confident in your speed," Hanzo muttered just before he karate chopped the small boy in the back of the neck. Stasy stopped cheering. "For a kid, you're doing pretty well."

Gon lay paralyzed on the floor, gasping in pain. Hanzo looked down condescendingly at the boy. "In a classic match, with this, I would've already won. Hey! Wake up!" He pulled Gon up into a sitting position. "You're not in the best shape, huh? That's normal. I hit you so you can't react correctly. It's only my experience that makes the difference, so why dont you quit now?"

"No way!" Gon stuck his tongue out at the ninja despite his pain.

Hanzo smacked Gon upside the head, and because of that previous hit, it caused a hurricane inside his tiny brain. "Just think about it. You stop now and you won't have any trouble recovering for your next match. Being stubborn won't help you right now. Just say it!"

"Who do you think I am?!" Gon retaliated which won him a good, hard smack across the head again.

"Gon! Don't be so persistant!" Leorio shouted to his little friend lying on the floor. "There are other matches!"

"Leorio..." Kurapica sighed. "If you were Gon, would you say you'd lost?"

"I'd rather die!" Leorio shouted to him. "But do you think I can tell him this? Talking to him is the only thing I can do!"

"That's contradictory," Kurapica sighed again, "but I understand how you feel."

Three hours in, and Gon was still being ruthlessly beaten by Hanzo. He stopped coughing up blood, but there was plenty on the floor for everyone. Gon barely had the ability to stand up anymore.

"You're gonna stop this now!" Leorio cracked. "I'll kill you if you continue! Come here and fight me!"

"If it's too hard for you to watch, then get out of here," Hanzo told the angry man. "The worst is yet to come."

Leorio was about to charge the ninja, but two of the men in black blocked his path. "No exterior interventions. It's a one-on-one match. Despite that, supposing you intervene, it is Gon who will be disqualified."

"I'm fine, Leorio," Gon small voice echoed through the large room as he wobbled on his knees, barely managing to stand up. "Everything is ok. I can bear some more."

"Leorio, back down," the brown-haired girl told the tall man. "Respect Gon's wishes."

"But don't you-" Leorio was about to protest as he swung his head around and stopped his sentence at the fierce site of Rage. A monsterous purple aura was eminating from her and it even whipped her long hair a bit.

"After this Exam is over," she growled. "I swear I'll kill him. Until then, I'll stand back, for Gon's sake."

The ninja smacked him back down to the floor. He grabbed Gon's left arm and folded it behind his back. "I'm gonna break your arm," he warned him. "I'm serious, so just say it!"

"NO!" Gon remained stubborn.

A loud crack resonated through the room and Gon's cry soon came afterwards. Rage was having a difficult time containing herself. She was shaking uncontrolably and everyone in the room glanced warily at her.

'_Sorry, Gon, but I can't hold it anymore_,' Rage thought within as she ran out of the room. A loud crash was soon followed afterwards. However, the tension did not die down.

"Kurapica," Leorio was trembling just as much as Rage was. "Don't try to stop me. If that guy goes any farther, I'm sorry Gon, but I swear I'll kick his butt!"

"Stop you? Me?" Kurapica's eyes were glowing a fierce red. "Dount count on it. There is no chance of that happening."

"It's horrible, huh?" Hanzo ignored all the hostility towards him. "I know this isn't really a good moment, but listen to what I have to say." He kneeled next to Gon who was crying reluctantly. "I come from a clan of shinobi. To acquire the special art of shinobi, I've trained since I was born. During 8 years, I built up a strong muscularity and refined my techniques. At your age, I'd already killed." Hanzo flipped up and did a hand stand single handedly. He slowly reduced the number of fingers until he was only on one. "Anyways, in this fight, you can't win against me. I don't say that to make you mad. Say only that you lose."

He was answered with a swift kick in the face from Gon. He was still trembling, but held his ground now. "I don't believe it," Gon snorted through gritted teeth. "The pain and your speech woke me up."

"YEAH, LET'S GO, GON!!!" Leorio shouted in fury. "KILL HIM!!!"

"Leorio, if he does that he'll lose," Kurapica sighed, calmed down now.

"18 years old," Gon mused. "There's only 6 years between us. And in this match, we don't need to show our strength, but to know who will abandon first."

Hanzo stood back up. "I let you kick me, but-" "LIAR!!" "I don't think you really understand. That wasn't a question, but an order. That was hard to understand? In that case, I'll be clearer." He pulled a long thin blade from his arm band. "I'll get rid of one of your legs. You won't ever be able to use it again. When you see a fatal injury, you'll understand, right? But I repeat once more, say 'I lose.'"

"That's not good," Gon replied to the threat, unaghast. "I don't want you to cut my leg, but I don't want to lose! Let's fight in another way..."

"No but?!" Hanzo shouted. "Don't you understand the situation?!"

"Heheheh..." A series of chuckles ran through the crowd. The tense atmosphere that was there before had been lifted by Gon's straight-forwardness.

"You don't understand huh?!" Hanzo shouted. "I'll cut your leg! I'm serious!"

"That doesn't mean that I'll say that I lose," Gon replied defiantly. "If you do that I'll bleed to death." He turned to the referee. "In that case, he would lose, huh?" The referee nodded. "And you see, that wouldn't be nice. Think about it."

Hanzo was at a loss for words.

"That looks good," Kurapica sighed relief. "Gon has changed the situation and Hanzo too."

Hanzo was enraged. This kid was making a fool of him. Was he so stupid he didn't know who was in charge here? He swung his blade forth, to show the kid who's boss. However, the little boy with onyx hair didn't move an inch. The point of his blade rested on the steadfast forehead of Gon. A bead of blood trickled down his forehead.

"You don't understand," Hanzo growled. "If you die, you won't be able to continue! Nothing will be in your way to come back next year! The other way, if I kill you here...We are not equal!! You understand?!"

Gon didn't answer, but he didn't move either.

"Why?" Hanzo questioned the little boy. "It's only two words, after all...You know that you'll be able to come back next year, right? This is really more important than your life?!"

"I want to meet my father," Gon said calmly. "He's a hunter. Actually, he is far from here. I really think that one day I'll meet him, but if I lose here, I think that I won't ever be able to meet him. This is the reason why I don't go back on my decision."

"But if you stay here, you'll die," Hanzo repeated.

They stared at each other for a couple of minutes before Hanzo removed his blade and put it back in his armband. "I've lost. I admit I've lost. I can't kill him and I can't make him say he's lost. I've lost. I will wait until the next match."

Gon frowned. "No, that's not possible, let's find a way to continue this fight!"

"ARE YOU STUPID OR WHAT?!" Hanzo shouted at the little boy. "WHATEVER THE MANNER OF FIGHTING, I WON'T GET YOU TO SAY THAT YOU'VE LOST!!"

"Maybe this way isn't good enough!" Gon shouted back.

"HOW DO YOU WANT IT?!"

"Let's find a way together!!"

"Let me see if I understand," Hanzo said more quietly. "I resigned myself to lose, but you say to me that you intend to beat me seriously once more. You want us to find a way for you to win in a fight. Is that it?!"

"Yeah!" Gon smiled.

"IDIOT!!" Hanzo shouted once more, uppercutting Gon, sending him flying. More quietly he said, "Hey, jurors! I lost. I'll fight again in the second matching. I think the committee must know that that kind of stuff won't remain this way. When he comes to, you can be sure he'll refuse the title. Have you seen his stubborness? Each time he decides something, he does all he can to make it happen. It's agreed? There'll only be one loser in this tournament? If it's Gon, all the fights from now on will be meaningless, won't they?"

At that moment the door flung open and Stasy waltzed through the door. "Sorry committee guys, I kinda dest-GON!!!" She shouted when she saw her beloved little boy lying unconcious on the ground. She rushed over to him, propping his back with her arm. "Oh, Gon! My sweet little brother!! Has that bastard killed you?"

"Stasy, calm down," Kurapica ordered her, tapping her shoulder. "Gon's okay. He was just knocked out. (And I can't say he didn't deserve it.) He won the match."

"My sweet little brother won the match?" Stasy repeated, her mouth agape.

"Yes, and he's broken his arm and needs medical attention, so if you'll let-"

"Gon won his match!" Stasy leapt into the air with glee. "Take that, baldy!!!" She shouted at Hanzo.

The ninja man turned around slowly. "Shut up, girly, or I'll cut you up!"

"Anyway, time for the next match!" the jurors interrupted them.


	17. Last Exam: Part 2

**Last Exam: Part 2**

"Second Match: Kurapica versus Hisoka!"

The said individuals walked to the middle of the room, anxious to fight, well, Kurapica was anyway. Hisoka looked bored. "BEGIN!!"

Kurapica whipped out his weapons. He wasn't going to underestimate his opponent. Hisoka whipped out a card from thin air, just like a magician. "Hmmm," he smirked. "Don't get me too excited now. I might actually kill you."

Kurapica didn't answer, simply tightened his hold on his weapons. Then, they fought. Kurapica was holding up surprisingly well, considering it was the homicidal maniac, Hisoka. The match ended in a second. They just suddenly stopped fighting, and Hisoka whispered into Kurapica's ear. No one else heard, but whatever he said caused the blonde boy's eyes to flash to red. Then Hisoka admitted defeat. Everyone stared in awe. Hisoka...lost. On purpose, yes, but he lost. This was unheard of.

"Asparagus-nii!!" Stasy chimed as she leeched onto the magician's back. "What did you say to Kurapica?"

"That's a secret," Hisoka smiled back at her.

"No seriously, Hisoka, what the hell did you say?" She spoke sweetly, but her words were unmatching.

"I'm not telling you!" He stuck his tongue out at her while winking.

"Hisoka-niiiiiiiiiiiiii!!! Come on!!" She pouted, but he was as stubborn as Gon.

"Third match!" The referee called out. "Hanzo versus Pokkuru!"

The two met each other in the middle of the room.

"Sorry," Hanzo spoke to his opponent. "But with you, I won't hold back."

Pokkuru swallowed a huge lump in his throat.

"Well, Hanzo wins, so I'm going to take a nap," Stasy spoke loudly.

"HEY!" Pokkuru yelled at her. "You don't know that yet!"

"BEGIN!"

Pokkuru was instantly smacked onto the ground, just like Gon was. Pokkuru lay paralyzed on the floor. Hanzo sat on his back and grabbed the poor guy's arm, ready to pull it off.

"I GIVE! I GIVE!!" He shouted desperately. This shinobi guy was ready for anything.

Hanzo released the boy and walked to the side.

"See, what'd I tell ya?" Stasy laughed at Pokkuru. "I wish these matches would last longer. I didn't even get to take my nap."

"Fourth match: Hisoka versus Ecstasy!"

"WHAT?!" Stasy shot up suddenly. "I have to fight Asparagus-nii?!"

"This shouldn't come as a surprise," Leorio said to her. "We saw the match-ups before we even fought. They're still there."

"I know, but I expected Kurapica to lose-no offense," Stasy shouted.

"None taken," Kurapica sighed. He seemed to be doing that a lot recently.

"Are you going to fight or not?" the juror asked impatiently.

"Yeah, sure," Stasy replied as she walked to the middle of the room.

"Again," the man in black spoke. "Fourth match: Hisoka versus Ecstasy. BEGIN!"

Stasy spread her legs apart in a fighting stance, waiting for Hisoka to make the first move.

"Since this is our first match," Hisoka smiled mischeviously, "I'll perform a magic trick for you." He whipped out two cards from what seemed like thin air. The Queen of Hearts and the Queen of Spades. He flicked them and they disappeared. "Now they have magically disappeared!"

Stasy looked about her, confused, until the pain in her back finally reached her brain. Hisoka slowly walked towards her and pulled out the two Queens from her shoulder blades. "Ah, but alas, they were behind you the whole time."

Stasy's mouth was still smiling, but her face was pale. '_I-I'm...scared...I didn't sense him move at all. This guy...is amazing. I feel like no match at all. But I..._' She recovered and smirked from the heart this time, confidently holding up her fists. '_ haven't even begun to fight._'

"I'll show you a magic trick!" She scoffed. "I can make solid rock ripple like water!" She gritted her teeth and concentrated all of her energy into her fist. Then, she flung her knuckles into the ground, causing a shockwave to ripple the tiles that everyone stood on. Hisoka merely leapt in the air for a moment and landed back down on the still ground. "Next time," Stasy warned him. "I'll hit you. Let's see if you ripple."

'_I've heard of this technique,_' Hisoka noted in his mind as he warily watched the little girl. '_The Girl With Nine Live's infamous Ripple Punch, said to cause a wave through whatever she punches. A direct blow from that could cause my organs to become unaligned. I need to avoid it as much as possible. Of course, she amateurly wastes her energy when she punches so roughly like that. She'll wear herself out._'

"You're such a barbarian," Hisoka shook his head.

"Hey! You take that back!!" She shouted and charged forward, fist in the air.

Hisoka didn't move but grabbed Stasy by the wrist and then lathargically flung her to the side. A loud _bang! _resonated through the cold air as she collided with the concrete wall. She fell to the floor in a cloud of dust, coughing, and looked up to prepare to attack Hisoka, but he was already standing idly right next to her.

"Fighting you doesn't excite me in the least bit," he yawned just before kicking her in the stomach. "You can't beat me with that personality. Bring out Malevolence!" He kicked her again.

"Ne-aheck-ver," Stasy coughed weakly, her blood splattering on the already stained floor. She punched Hisoka in the face, or at least attempted to. The magician had already moved to the other side of the room.

Stasy wiped her face and stood up straight. She took a deep breath and resumed her fighting stance. Now that her stomach had stopped queasing, she could fight normally. This time she would take the initiative. She charged head first, but this time, she leapt into the air just before getting into his range, and appeared behind him, back-to-back. She grabbed his head and flung him over hers and smashing him into the ground, face first. The thriteen year old girl stepped back a bit to look at her destruction.

A gasp of breath escaped her as she saw Hisoka stand back up. Not many people survived her mighty Body Slam. The green-haired magician wiped the blood from his broken nose and chuckled maniacally to himself. "I think that might've given me a little hard-on! Nice job! However," His hand shot forth and clasped around her neck, "you're nothing compared to what _she_ could be. Bring out Malevolence!"

"You'll have to kill me first," Stasy smirked despite her lack of air.

"Actually, I think I know another way of making you submit," he licked his lips slyly. He had a devious plan. He forcefully brought her ear close to his lips and whispered, "If you bring out Malevolence, I will show you to your brother." He released the shocked girl and her body fell in slump on the floor.

'_He knows where Brother is?_'

_That's preposterous! How could he know? Brother must be dead from that massacre some years ago! _

_But Hisoka knew about Malevolence and the others. He might now about this. _

_Even if he knew about it, he might be dead after we brought out Malevolence. We simply cannot do that! We could hurt the others also. _

_She's right. For no reason can we allow her to escape._

"Fine," Stasy sighed. Hisoka smiled victoriously, however his grin fell when he heard her say, "I admit defeat."

Hisoka glared unhappily at her. The juror announced Hisoka's victory and they walked to the wall. "Please don't mistake me for a retard, Asparagus-nii," she told him just before walking over to Leorio and Kurapica.

They inquired as to her reason for defeat, but she would not talk.

"NEXT UP!!" The referee announced. "Killua versus Gitarakuru!"

The pinned freak faced the little silver-haired Killua, who looked bored. However, his boredom vanished when Gitarakuru said, "It's been a long time, Killua."

The strange man began to pull thin pins out of his face which morphed and deformed as Stasy saw during the fourth exam. The beautiful, long, coal black hair flowed down his back and the cold assassin's eyes stared down at the mortified Killua.

"Irumi!! My...brother!!"


	18. Last Exam: Part 3

**Last Exam: Part 3**

Two brothers faced each other, one shocked out of his wits, the other cool and unreadable. The uncaring attitude Stasy had fallen onto the people was erased by the tension between the Zaoldyeck family, and from what Killua had told her, Stasy knew that this little reunion could only breed trouble.

"Mum and Miruki told me you've hit them," Irumi demanded his brother for an answer.

"You could say it like that," Killua felt a cool bead of sweat trickle down his cheek.

"Mum was crying," Irumi informed him. "She was confused. 'Succeeding in educating that way gives me such pleasure, but I'm worried to see him leave right now.' After thinking a lot, she called me. It's an unexpected meeting. She feared you'd like to become a Hunter. To tell you the truth, I also wanted an accreditation for my next work."

"I don't especially want to be a Hunter," Killua took a step back. "I just wanted to try the exam."

"That's reassuring," Irumi spoke in a monotone. "So I can talk to you openly. You won't become a Hunter. Your vocation is to be a killer. You're just a dark, passionless puppet. Inside, you have no passion nor desire. You feed yourself with shadow, and the only pleasure you can feel comes from the death of people. You're just as we taught you, father and I. What were you expecting in becoming a hunter?"

'_This bastard!_' Stasy was quivering in anger, however this was nothing like what she felt for Gon. '_Even if he is Killua's brother, that's no reason for him to control his life like this! If this wouldn't get Killua disqualified, I'd kill that little punk right now!_'

"It's not becoming a Hunter that led me here," Killua was trembling. He obviously feared his brother. "But there's something I'd like to have."

"No, there isn't anything," Irumi decided for him.

"Yes, there is something!" Killua retaliated.

"Pff!" Irumi scoffed at his little kid brother. "So tell it to me! What would you want?"

"I want..." Killua began. "I want to become friends with Gon. I'm fed up with killing. I just want...to become friends with Gon. I want to have fun like a normal kid."

"That's impossible!" Irumi told him. "You can't make people become your friends. The only judgement you're able to pass on a human being is whether you can kill them or not, because that's what we taught you. You're amazed by Gon. You're always together, aren't you? This has nothing to do with being friends.

"That's wrong," Killua muttered in a small voice.

"If you stay close to him," Irumi continued, "one day, you'll want to kill him, because you'll ask yourself if you can kill him or not. You're a natural born killer."

"SHUT THE FUCK UP, PINHEAD!" Rage shouted from the side. The men in black gave her a warning glare, but she wasn't going to intervene. Just scream her heart out at this punk. "It's Killua's decision if he wants to be friends with Gon, not you! You don't own him! Killua is a free being, living, breathing, moving, of his own will! Stop trying to brainwash him into a mindless puppet! Can't you see he doesn't like killing? If he doesn't want to, then let the rest of your messed up family do the killing! Lossing Killua won't hurt you guys! Killua, Don't listen to this shit head! If you and Gon want to be together, that's your business. He has nothing to do with it! And I'm sure Gon feels the same way about you!"

"Really?" Irumi spoke nonchalantly, despite Rage's yelling. "That bothers me. If the other one already thinks he's a friend...I know! I'll just have to kill Gon." "OVER MY DEAD BODY!" "Killers don't need friends because they're always in the way. Where is he?"

"Please, the trial isn't," the referee began but got a face full of pins which caused his head to become deflated and deformed.

"So?" Irumi asked.

"Resting...room...two...next... AIEE!! AGH!!"

"Thanks," Irumi said as he began to walk towards the door. However, Kurapica, Leorio, Hanzo, and-of course-Rage, including the men in black, stood in front of the door, blocking his path.

"Damn it!" Irumi cursed. "If only I didn't need this certification for my next work. If I kill them here, I'll be disqualified and Killua will automatically pass. I was going to make a mistake, because if I kill Gon, the result will be the same. Yes. I know! I'll start with passing the exam and then I'll kill Gon! Doing it this way, even if I kill everyone here my title can't be taken back, can it?"

"No," Chairman Netero answered calmly. "No special rule prohibits that."

"Did you hear that Killua?" Irumi addressed his younger brother. "If you don't win against me, you won't be able to save Gon. Will you be able to fight for friendship? No, you can't. The reason is simple: More than the friendship, what matters most is if here and now you can defeat me or not. You already have the answer. 'With my strength, I can't beat my brother.' 'If you feel you can't defeat him, don't confront him.' I was the one who gave you that advice, remember? Don't move. If you move even a tiny bit, I'll consider it to be the start of the fight. From the moment our bodies touch each other, the fight will begin. There's only one way to stop us. You understand? But...don't forget: If you don't confront me, your precious friend, Gon, will die."

"Don't listen to him, Killua!" Rage shouted desperately. "I'll protect you, no matter what! If he even lays a finger on your head I'll rip him limb from limb! I won't stop at anything to keep him from you, so just do what you want to do!" '_I'll even bring Malevolence out if this continues. I will protect you, Killua, my love. _

Irumi's hand came dangerously close to the sweat-soaked Killua. "Damn! I lost..." Killua spoke out loud.

'_What?!_'

"Ah, I feel better!" Irumi clapped his hands together. "I'm done with the fights. Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! I lied to you, Killua. I have no intention of killing Gon. I only wanted to test you." He slapped his hand on killua's trembling shoulder. "Now I have what I wanted. You don't have the qualifications to make any friends. More so, you don't need any. You'll continue listening to what your father and I tell you. You only have to do your work correctly and everything will be fine. If someday, it becomes necessary for you to pass this exam, I'll guide you. But now, that's not the case."

Killua did not say anything back. He merely stood there with a blank face and a now still body. It scared Rage. He looked just like...Listless. Irumi walked over to Hisoka and Killua walked straight towards the wall.

"Killua!" Leorio, Kurapica, and Melancholy called out to him, but he didn't answer.

"Killua! Killua!" She cried, shaking his body briskly. Still no response.

"Irumi, you bastard!" She shouted over to his brother. "Change him back! Make him the old Killua again!"

"He _is _the old Killua," Irumi answered, straight-faced. "He is as he should be."

"No he's not! This is not Killua! This is not the boy I love!" She cried at him, her anxiety eating up at her, then she turned back to the boy. "Killua! Killua! Please! Say something! I swear I won't hug you anymore if you just speak! I won't declare my love for you in public! Oh, please, don't be like this! Please! Don't walk down this road! I've been there! Don't become a mindless killer like I once was. It's not a happy way to live your life. Its not even living! Please come back! Please come back to me, Killua." She cradled his head close to her heart as she rocked him back and forth, her tears mingling with his sweat.

Everyone remained silent for what felt like the longest minute. Somehow they felt like she deserved their respects, not that Killua died or anything though.

"Next match," the new referee shattered the silence. "Leorio versus Ecstasy."

"Now?" Melancholy sighed, but stood up and walked over to the fighting round.

"Sorry, Mel," Leorio apologized. They were just not in the fighting mood.

"Begin!" the man in black shouted.

Melancholy looked up at Leorio with tired eyes which rooted him to the floor. There was no way he could fight her in this condition. But he didn't need to anymore, because suddenly, Mel was bleeding uncontrollably, with Killua's hand running through her chest. He slowly pulled his bloody hand from her body as she fell to the floor, which didn't help her current condition. "Killu...a?" she looked up at him in a pool of tears in blood. The last thing she could remember before passing out was the blurry image of Killua's face and the juror's call of "Disqualified!"


	19. End of the Hunter Exam

**End of the Hunter Exam**

_I felt the cold biting needles of the icy wind, which whipped my long, brown hair into my face. I had to pull it back, numerous times. I took a step and nearly fell as I realized that I was standing in a massive plane of debri and rubble. Nothing stood taller than my knee. Nothing, except for a tall handsome man with free flowing black hair and wide black eyes. He looked up at the grey sky with anticipation, seeing only opportunity in this bleak and desolate world. I knew this man. He was my beloved brother. The closest being to my heart, well, except for..._

_I shuddered suddenly, but not because of the frozen air. My brother was being overrun with spiders. Millions of twelve-legged spiders with bright red numbers on their backs. He slowly turned his head from the sky to look at me. He opened his mouth and said_

"York Shire!"

Stasy took in her surroundings. She was lying in a soft bed with rosey sheets and a maroon comforter. The walls were painted a light pink with gold trimming. The pillow behind her was white and as fluffy as a cloud. The windows to her right were open and the cold air danced with the red curtains. "Where...am I?"

"Aha! She lives!" a familiar voice exclaimed from the left.

Stasy turned her head and saw Menchi standing in the doorway.

"You're a real strange one," Menchi mused about as she walked to Stasy's bedside. "To survive such an attack, you must be _made _of miracles."

"Huh?" Stasy could only say. Thus woman was speaking in riddles.

"Remeber? The Hunter Exam? You were about to fight Leorio when-"

"Oh, my gosh! Killua!" Stasy made to get out of the bed, but Menchi pushed her back down.

"It's ok," Menchi told her.

"No it's not! Killua's disqualified! It's all my fault!"

"Your fault?" Menchi snorted. "Girl, you still dead or somethin'? He's the one that ran you through!"

"Yeah, but he was being controlled by Irumi!" Stasy argued.

"Ok, settle down," Menchi pushed Stasy back down again. "I'll tell you what happened. Where to start? Well, after Killua randomly stabbed you in the chest, the referee disqualified him on the spot, but that didn't seem to faze him. It was like he disqualified himself on purpose. Anyway, he ran away after that, and we rushed you to the emergency clinic in the lobby. When we checked your pulse, it had stopped, however, it suddenly shot up again. And the hole in your chest disappeared. Your heart stopped for only two seconds, but now you're completely healed. We didn't need to do anything. You're a real piece of work, gal."

"Then, where are the others?" Stasy asked.

"They're in a conference room learning about their Hunter's Licens-Hey! Wait! Where are you going?!"

Stasy already left the room and was running down the hall. She finally found the right room after many tries and flung the door open in a flurry. "I'm not dead!" she shouted and ran over to Chairman Netero. "I'm not dead, so Killua didn't kill me, so you can't disqualify him!"

The old man along with the other seven exminees looked at her in silence. Everyone except for Irumi and Gon were sitting down and Irumi's arm was locked in Gon's death grip. "We were just discussing this, Ecstasy," Netero sighed with aggrivation as if he had already been over this topic. "And in fact, yes you were dead, for about two seconds, so Killua did legally kill you."

"But I'm fine now!" Stasy argued. "I drop all charges!"

"This isn't a murder case, Ecstasy," the chairman sighed.

"The attitude of Killua during the fight with the one named Gitarakuru and after the fight weren't natural," Kurapica continued the arguement. "This allows us to think that during the fight he was under influence and acted under this hold. Generally, if we use hypnotism, its impossible to ask someone to assassinate someone. But for Killua, killing is a daily act, and moral limits don't work. His actions can be explained."

"The problem comes from this happening during my fight against Stasy," Leorio added on. "If we pay close attention, we could say Killua came to help me. In that case, it would be my disqualification, not his."

"Whatever," Kurapica stepped in. "At this moment, Killua couldn't act on his own. His disqualification isn't justified."

"But these are only hypotheses," Netero stroked his beard. "We don't have any proof. Nothing can prove to us that he was asked to kill someone, nor that he had been hypnotized before hand. Concerning what happened after the match between Leorio and Ecstasy, I don't think there are any problems. Stasy had already been previously injured from her fight with Hisoka, and Leorio has more experience against her, plus his height could be used to an advantage. I can only say the situation didn't need Killua's help."

"I see something else not really natural," Pokkuru spoke up. "I want to talk about Kurapica's attitude during his match with Hisoka. What could he have said? You still had enough strength, and Hisoka, after saying a few words to you, gave up. Weird, isn't it? I can understand a quitting in a match like Hanzo and I, when we have to stop and admit we've lost. But for him, it was the opposite. I think there must've been a secret agreement. If we decided to discuss non-elimination because of unnatural terms then Kurapica's victory is anything but natural!"

"No, if my qualification is unnatural," Kurapica replied. "Then those who have won by default are unnatural also."

"What are you implying?" Pokkuru snapped back.

"This isn't any of my business," Gon growled. This fight was annoying him. "Qualification isn't something we have to talk about. The ones who are not ok with their success can go through training until they are. Concerning Killua, if he takes the exam again, its obvious he'll pass and obtain his title of Hunter. It's a pity he failed but we can't do anything about it. On the other hand," he squeezed Irumi's arm. "If he had been under constraint until now to kill people not by his own choice, I won't forgive you." He glared at the older brother.

"You forgive me?" Irumi scoffed. "So what?."

"I'll take Killua back," Gon promised him. "And I'll do everything to make sure you never meet again."

Irumi made the movement to touch Gon with his hand, but the little boy quickly released his arm and jumped back, glaring at Irumi.

"Just like Gon said," Netero disrupted the tense atmosphere with his nonchalant tone, "Everyone is free to decide if his success is deserved or not. Moreover, other participants can contest, we don't have the intention of changing our decisions. The disquallification of Killua is kept and so is the success of others. I declare the session of information to be reopened."

"Since this time, you're all here, I'll start from the beginning," The noseless man said with a smile as he began he explanation of the Hunter's License.

The young auburn haired girl ignored the short man's words as she delved within herself.

_I'm still alive, so that means one of my personalities died. Ok, personality check. I, Stasy, am here. Melancholy?_

_Unfortunately. _

_Apathy?_

_Of course, you think I woul-_

_Timidness?_

_Yeah._

_Love? _

_Here and accounted for!_

_Malevolence?_

_Die._

_Rage?_

_I'M GOING TO KILL THAT IRUMI!!!_

_Listless?_

_Listless? Listless? _

_I think we lost her. _

_Well, I guess that's the best choice._

_We could've at least gotten rid of Timidness. _

_Hey-_

"The seven people here are now hunters!" the voice brought Stasy back down to Earth.

"Seven?" Kurapica inquired, counting the heads of the examinees in the room. There were eight.

"Yes," Netero explained. "Ecstasy, you did not win your match against Hisoka. Therefore, in dying, if even for only two seconds, you technically lost the match. I'm sorry, but you did not pass."

"That doesn't matter right now," she shook her head. "Right now, I've got to go to Killua!" _I still haven't apologized to him._

"Gitarakuru!" Gon yelled at Irumi. "Tell me where Killua is!"

"You better renounce," Irumi told him, his poker face perfect.

"You think I'm that kind of guy?" Gon stuck his tongue out at him. "Killua is my friend! No matter what it costs, I'll find him!" 

Stasy looked over at the spiky haired boy with a sparkle in her eyes. _Gon..._

"Even if I tell you, you'll never reach him," Irumi thought aloud. "Killua must have gone back home, to Kukuru Mountain. Our family residence is on the peak of the mountain top."


	20. The Door of the Otherworld

**Door of the Otherworld**

"I can see it," Leorio stared out the window of the train. "Kukuru Mountain."

Stasy gazed out the window, the ominous black mountain having little effect on the cheery residents around it.

"What's wrong, Stasy?" Kurapica worried. "You're awfully quiet today."

"It's nothing," Stasy smiled at him. "I just miss my sweet Killua."

"Where should we start?" Leorio continued the conversation.

"First, let's go to an inn and make a plan," Kurapica suggested.

"It'll be ok!" Gon perked up. "We're just going to see a friend, aren't we?"

Kurapica and Leorio looked at each other before looking back at the blissfull Gon.

* * *

After asking around with the locals, the gang found out that Kukuru mountain actually had a tour bus. An infamous family of assassins had a tour bus that would take locals to the front gate. Nothing was ominous about the bus ride there, either, except for the group of suspicious men in the back.

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" the cute little tour guide in a skimpy pink and purple outfit announced over a microphone on the bus ride there. "The company 'Terror Buses' would like to thank you for joining us. Today, we'll present to you the assassin family of Dentora's province. Now, please look to your left."

Everyone obliged.

"This is Kukuru Mountain, the sadly famous place where the Zaoldyeck's live. Somewhere on this volcano, culminating at 3722 meters, surrounded by a mar of vegetation, may stand a residence, but no one has ever seen it. There are 9 members of the Zaoldyeck family. The great-grandfather, grandfather, father, mother, and five children. They're all proffessional killers. If you agree, we will approach the mountain."

Once they had arrived at their destination, the tourists filed out of the vehicle to gawk at what seemed to be the tallest wall they had ever seen. There was an eminse gate with seven doors of different height and two enourmous dragon heads at the two ends of the gate. To the left and right lay a thick brush of vegetation that was as much a barrier as the stony wall.

"This the main entrance," the tour guide informed everyone. "We call it 'the Door of the Otherworld.' The reason is simple: once you pass through, you'll never return alive. To enter, we use the little door on the side and we see the guardian. From this point, it's private domain of the Zaoldyeck's, so we can't visit."

"What?!" Leorio shouted in surprise. "But the mountain is still so far away from us! So why..."

"Yes, I know," the tour guide smiled. "Here begins the mar of vegetation and Kukuru Mountain, consequently all this is the domain of the Zaoldyeck family."

"You mean..." the group looked at the looming gate. "All of that is their front yard?!"

"Miss Guide," Gon raised his hand as if he were in school.

"Yes?"

"How do we get inside?"

The tour guide smiled sweetly. "Tell me kid, did you just listen to what I explained?"

"Yes, but..."

"If you enter, you won't come out alive. It's a killers lair." She glared at him even though her face was still twisted into a smile.

"That's a bluff, isn't it?" one of the suspicious men said. "A phantom murderer family that nobody has ever seen."

"I heard somewhere there's a 100 million bounty for the one who takes a simple picture of their face," the shorter suspicious man said.

"From a rumor, it became a legend," the bigger one hypothesized.

"But I'm sure there's nothing dangerous there," the shorter one chuckled.

The big assassin guy pulled the guard's door off it's hinges and picked the old man up by his collar. "Open the door!"

"What a nuisance," the old man squirmed. "My master will scold me for this!"

"Don't worry," the shorter guy laughed. "We'll take care of your master."

They extracted a single key from the guard's pocket and dropped the old man on his bum.

"Are you ok?" Stasy asked him.

"Yes, yes," he waved off her worries, then muttered under his breath, "Hnn, seems Mike will have something other than his usual food once more."

"Huh?"

The door from which the suspicious men had entered cracked open slightly. A large, furry, clawed paw held out two skeletons and flung them to the ground, and then resealed the entrance, once more. The tourists were screaming in horror.

"The master has forbidden that you eat between meals!" the old man shouted over the wall. "If you get fat, it won't be because of me!"

"What...was that?" Kurapica shuddered.

The tourists all climbed into the bus, eager to get the heck out of there. "Hey, what are you guys doing?" One of them shouted over to Stasy and the group. "Hurry and get on the bus!"

"Just leave us," Gon told him. "We'll stay here."

Everyone looked at them as if they were insane, but didn't feel the need to linger so they all hopped on the bus and drove off. The guard invited them into his little shack after they explained the purpose for their lingering.

"So you are young master Killua's friends?" He asked, setting his cup of tea on its saucer. "It's a real pleasure for me! Having visitors this way. I've been working for 20 years and you're the first ones to come in peace. As an employee, I may be punished if I say this, but...What a sad residence! Nobody ever visits here. There's an endless stream of people like this, but...," he pointed to the skeletons he had discarded in a trash bin. "Well, it's not a common assassin family, so it's normal." He sipped his tea. "That's the way they planned things. But I'm really happy! However, I can't let you enter. You saw it, too, didn't you? The paw of that enormous animal...That's Mike, the guard dog of the Zaoldyeck's. It obeys only the orders of the family; it's uncontrollable. For ten years, it has loyally obeyed the orders of its masters. Anyways, I can't let you enter. I can't let Killua's friends be reduced to bones."

"Tell me, Guardian," Kurapica spoke after a long pause. "Why are you unharmed? You can enter, can't you? Otherwise, why would you have this key?"

"Good remark," the old man blew the steam from his tea before he tipped the cup back and let the last few drops of the colored liquid pour into his throat. "But you are half right, half wrong. To enter, I don't use the key. This is the special key for intruders. All of these weird people, eight or nine come proudly up to the front door. When they can't open the door, disconcerted, they try to destroy it. It's annoying. So we built a door with a lock right next to it. This way, intruders come to steal it from me, and I don't resist. Then they're killed and eaten by Mike. Under my appearance of sympathetic guardian, I'm only in charge of cleaning up the messes Mike makes."

"On the real door," Kurapica also pointed out. "There's no lock."

"Exactly."

"What?" Leorio shouted again. He trudged out the door and pushed against the big double doors with all his might, but to no avail. "I pull! I push! To the left! To the Right! It doesn't open!"

"That's only because you're weak," the guard told him.

"I gave it all I had!" he yelled back, defenseively.

"Look," the old man said as he took of his jacket to reveal the undershirt beneath. "The door's nickname is the 'Door of Verification.' The ones that can't open this door..." He exhaled and suddenly his muscles grew to an unbelievable amount. "..do not have the required qualities to enter into the Zaoldyeck's domain." He pushed against the door, and with great strain slowly opened it. Then he released it and the stone slabs slammed shut. "As you can see, this door closes automatically. Once it's opened, you have to enter without pausing. Year after year, it becomes harder to open. If I failed, I would get fired, so I don't have any other choice. Mike was given the order not to attack people who enter through the Door of Verification. Each side of the first door is two tons."

"T-t...two?" Leorio stuttered. "Normally, nobody can push such,...You said 'frist door'?"

"Yes," the old man smiled. "Look! You can see that there are seven total. The weight doubles each time the size changes."

"It doubles?!" Leorio shouted.

"They were built so that we open the one corresponding to our strength. When Killua entered, he opened the third door."

"The third one?" Stasy inquired.

"12 tons!" Gon exclaimed.

"Err..that's 16 tons, Gon," Kurapica corrected him.

Stasy looked at the doors, and an unsettling feeling weld up within her. "I'm going to try to open it."

"What?" Leorio seemed to like that word a lot. "Did you not here what the guy said? SIXTEEN TONS! SIXTEEN!!"

"Yes, but if Killua can open the the third door," she explained. "Then I don't feel worthy enough to be his wife."

The girl rolled up her sleeves and pushed against the door. It didn't budge. Vexed, she took a step back and inhaled deeply. "HA!" She pushed forward, screaming with the effort.

Everyone gazed in awe as a white aura began to encase the girl and the door slowly creaked open. However, just as Stasy opened it a creak, an immense growl emanated from her stomach. She fell to the ground and the door swung shut. "Hun...gry..."

"Do you understand now?" the old man told the others. "To enter the domain, you must have some abilities. The world where you live is different."

"I don't like this.." Gon mumbled before he turned to the guard. "Sir, lend me your keys."

"What?"

"Even if I only came to see a friend, I must pass a test. So being an intruder fits me better."

"Don't be stupid, Gon!" Leorio attempted to persuade the boy. "Didn't you see the monster a while ago? One of his paws was bigger than you!"

"Perhaps," Gon admitted. "But all this stuff isn't ok with me. Testing his friends is weird, isn't it? I refuse to enter through such a door!"

"I think you're right," the old man scratched the back of his head. "But it's madness wanting to pass with force. You'll get yourself killed for sure."

"I agree with you," Kurapica piped in. "We have some time, so let's try opening the first door."

"Gon!" Leorio nagged him.

The boy remained unmoving.

"Oh my," the old man realized Gon would not budge from his decision. "I'm sorry, but I can't give you this key. I can't let friends of Master Killua's satisfy Mike's appetite so easily. Well, wait a moment."

He walked back into his room and began dialing on a phone. "Hello? Yes, it's Zebulo. Uh...there are three of Young Master Killua's friends and...yes, yes...Yes, I'm sorry, yes! Yes, yes. I understand, yes, forgive me. Thank you, goodbye." He hung up the phone. "I suspected it. They refused."

"You called the residence?" Gon asked.

"No, I called Zaoldyeck's attendants. All calls to the residence have to pass through the intendants. It's rare to speak to the family."

"Would you mind calling again?" Gon asked. "This time, I'll talk."

"Ok, it doesn't bother me, but," the guard dialed the phone, "It won't give you a good impression." He handed Gon the phone.

"Zaoldyeck's intendant speaking," a deep voice came from the phone.

"Yes, hello," Gon replied. "My name is Gon. I'm a friend of Killua's. Is he here?"

"Master Killua has no friends," the voice replied before it hung up.

Gon calmly redialed the number and place the phone to his ear to here a familiar "Zaoldyeck's intendants speaking."

"WHO ARE YOU TO KNOW THAT KIND OF THING?! THAT'S ENOUGH!! LET KILLUA GET OUT OF HERE!!"

"You said, you're Gon, didn't you?" the voise inquired.

"Yes," the boy replied.

"Even supposing Killua does have a friend named Gon, how will you prove it?"

"Make Killua come and he'll tell you!" Gon shouted at the phone.

"If you mean he'll recognize your voice, that won't work," the voice countered, and then with Gon's voice repeated his words. "'Make Killua come and he'll tell you!' There. It was a simple magnetic recording, but there are numerous ways to counterfeit the voice. Next, you'll surely say, 'When he sees me, he'll recognize me.' But for that, too, even if the ways to take the appearance of someone are limited, it's still possible. We can also imagine that the ones who want to kill Master Killua will used one called Gon to reach their goal. And while there's still the risk, we won't let Master Killua go out. The Zaoldyeck's practice assassination. Consequently, the number of their enemies will increase. Protecting our masters from useless exterior attacks is our job. I'm sorry. Maybe he'll call you back later." He hung up.

Gon set the phone down and walked outside of the room.

"Eh? Gon!" Leorio called out after him. "Go-He's out of his mind."

The black haired boy swung his fishing pole around and then flung the hook to the top of the wall. It latched onto the top and Gon tugged the line to make sure it was secure.

"Gon!" Leorio protested. "I'm telling you to stop!"

"No, you two wait here with Stasy," Gon ordered them looking at the girl who had fallen asleep long ago. "I'm going alone."

"You really think I'll let you do that?" Leorio shouted back.

They began to quarrel and the guard scratched his head in a tired sort of way. "Gon, I'm giving you the keys. With these, you'll be able to pass through the intruder's door."

"Sir! Wait!" Leorio protested. "We'll make him forget this crazy idea!"

"Really?" the old man inquired. "Gon seems to be very stubborn. In compensation, I'll pass through the door with you. If I go with you there's a small chance that Mike will remember me and won't kill us. Well, you can be almost a 100 sure he'll kill us, but..."

"No, that way, it doesn't work," Gon refused. "I don't want to cause any problems for you."

"No, I'm coming too," the old man finalized it. Staying here would be the same. If some friends of Killua were about to get killed in front of me, I could never hope to see his face again. If you die, I'll die too."

"I understand," Gon flicked his fishing pole to retrieve the lure. "Please forgive me. I didn't think of you, sir."

The old man smiled. '_He's a good kid._' "Gon, you like animals, don't you?" the asked the little boy.

"Huh? Yes..."

"There was no doubting it," the old man chuckled. "You spent all your time in the countryside, didn't you?"

"Yep, how did you know?" Gon inquired.

"Gon, I'll reopen the Door of Verification once more," the old man brought out his muscles. "This time, look at Mike's face."

The door opened and everyone ran through and slammed shut.

"Phew!" Stasy sighed as she dusted off her pants. "That was a close one!"

"When did you wake up?" Kurapica asked her.

"Oh, a while ago," she answered. "I grabbed something to eat in the woods. I feel renewed and refreshed!"

"Mike!" the guard called out into the night. "Come here, Mike!"

The ground shook with the weight of the humongous dog. Mike had a long snout and curly, ragged white fur that had been dirtied to a light tan. Gon stared into the dog's blank eyes in horror, sweat trickling down his face. The dog calmly layed down, but Gon was still backing away.

"Gon, do you understand?" the old man spoke through his fear. "It's a perfectly trained guard dog. There aren't any wild animals like this that you've met in the countryside. You thought you could communicate with it, didn't you?"

"Until I saw his eyes, yes," Gon admitted.

"Right now, it's recording the silhouette and the smell of a human its seeing for the first time. Apart from this, he has no other sensations. It's like a machine. If the conditions, emitted in order, are fulfilled, he'll attack even someone like me who comes to see him everyday. You want to fight against it?"

Gon eagerly shook his head in the negative. "No way, it's terrifying. I don't want to confront him at all."

"Well, this way, if you want to follow me. My house is close to here, you can rest here for the night."

* * *

Zebulo agreed to let them endure a special training at his small house. Everything there had a weight increased tenfold. The door to the house was 200 Kg and even a small cup was 20 Kg. They had to wear weights on their arms, chest, and legs every waking minute and did the chores around the house. The first day, they felt like slugs.

"You'll get used to it," the guard chuckled, getting ready to go to his post for the day. "And once you do, I'll increase the weight."

"Seriously?" Leorio complained. "This is heavy for me, I can't imagine what the kids..." He stopped in the middle of his sentence as he saw Stasy and Gon merrily running mops across the wooden floors with ease.

"Well, I'm off to work!" he pushed open the door and walked back to his guard room.

As he unlocked the newly repaired door, something in the woods caught his eye. The elderly man curiously walked through the vegetation and gasped as he walked into a clearing. More rather, all the plant life in a good 30 meter radius were reduced to withering piles of plant flesh. The old man kneeled down and examined a greyed tree, once a mighty oak had no been turned into a raisan. The tree looked as if the very life, the very energy had been sucked out of it. Stasy words from last night suddenly came back to him.

_"I grabbed something to eat in the woods. I feel renewed and refreshed!" _

Could she have done this?


	21. Kanaria

**Kanaria**

The august stony doors slowly creaked open as Leorio's sweaty body pushed them. He passed through the door and the stone slabs slammed closed.

"Great, Leorio!" Gon cheered, his broken arm from his fight with Hanzo had been healed, and he was using them to their fullest.

"You're amazing," the old Zebulo gaped. "In only two weeks..."

"If you ask me, Stasy's the one who's amazing," Leorio looked at the girl who battered her eyelashes innocently. "She opened the first door on her second try. It's like the only reason she couldn't open it the first time was because she was hungry!"

"Thanks, Leorio, but I'm not that amazing," Stasy blushed modestly. "I can only get the second door half-way open. I'm still not worthy enough for Killua."

The old man took them past the house and pointed to a dirt path. "Just follow this road and it should take you up to the house. In all my years of working here, I've never seen the house. I'm sorry I'm not of much use to you."

"No, you're a great help!" Gon smiled. "Thanks, Zebulo!" The boy waved before he turned with his friends and walked down the road.

"I really hope they make it," Zebulo mumbled to himself, before returning to his post as guard.

* * *

They treked for some lengthy hours before they were met with yet another gate, smaller, this time, but there was a lone girl standing in the way. She appeared to be a similar age as Gon and Stasy, but held an adult's poker face. Her skin was a creamy brown and her black hair was frizzy and pulled into eight ponytails that could not hold it down. Her attire appeared formal, in her dark blue suit and a single staff in her hand.

"Leave," she ordered them. "You are on private property."

"We called, we even passed through the Door of Verification," Gon informed her.

"That doesn't mean the intendants allowed you to enter onto the domain," she remained firm.

"In that case," Gon countered. "How do we get authorization? We said we were friends, but, despite this, we weren't given the okay."

"So what? That's because before there have been no previous authorizations."

"So all we can do is enter without permission?" Gon summed it up.

"Yes, that's true," the girl answered. "Whatever, I will tolerate you as far as here." She drew a line in the dirt with her staff. "Take one more step and I'll use all my power to kill you."

Gon frowned and walked slowly up to her. Once his foot passed the line, she smacked his face with the end of her staff, as quick as lightening. The boy flew back from the blow.

"Gon!" the others cried out. Kurapica and Leorio toke out their wepons and Stasy held up her fists.

"Kurapica! Leorio! Stasy!" Gon shouted at them to hold down, as he rose back to his feet. "Don't interfere. Let me fight." He wiped the blood from his nose and walked up to the girl, making sure not to pass the line. "I have no intention of hurting you. I just want to see Killua!"

"Whatever the reason," the girl held up her staff defiantly. "I obey only the masters."

Gon threw down his back-pack and walked across the line. _SMAT!_ He went flying back, a bloody mess.

* * *

Continuously through the next few hours, Gon crossed the line and was smacked by the girl's pole. By now, his face had become unsightly and stained with blood and dirt.

"Stop it," the girl spoke quietly. "Don't approach anymore!"

Gon ignored her demand and crossed the line, rewarding himself another smack in the face, but he still remained standing.

"Be reasonable!" he shouted at them. "You know this will lead to nothing! And you! Stop him! He's your friend!"

The three didn't move, merely watched in silence. This was nothing compared to Hanzo's beating.

"Why?" Gon asked her. "We only came to see our friend. We only came to see Killua. So why? Why do we have to do all this?!" He sent his knuckles forward and smashed the some of the stone of the gate.

"Hmm?" Gon looked up. "My foot crossed the line. You don't hit me?"

She tightened her grip on her staff. But when she stared at the boy's beaten face, she found she could not move.

"You're not like Mike," Gon told her. "You can do whatever you want to hide your feelings, but you still have a heart. When I pronounced Killua's name, for a fraction of a second, your eyes gave an impression of gentleness."

"Please..." she cried. "Save Killua."

At the exact moment she finished those words, some unknown force hit her in the head and she went flying to the ground. As the group gazed in shock, a woman in an exaggeratedly frilly dress like something from _Gone With The Wind_ and a smaller girl with cropped black hair and a blue kimono came out from behind the bushes. The older woman, however, head bandages on what part of her body shown and some electronic headset across her eyes.

"Really, what could that employee have told you?" the woman in the yellow dress sighed. "It really seems that we handle Killua roughly. You know, it's very impolite to come and behave childishly here." She looked to the little boy in the green jacket. "You are Gon, aren't you? I heard about you from Irumi. We told Killua you were in the domain about three weeks ago. I'm going to repeat to you verbatim what Killua requested me to tell you. 'It's a real pleasure for me that you came, but, right now, I can't meet you. Sorry.'"

She paused for a while to let the information sink in, and then continued. "I've waited to present myself. I am Killua's mother, and her name is Karuto." She motioned to the girl beside her.

Gon stared at her for a second before he flicked his head to the side and turned back to the dark girl lying on the floor.

"It's ok," Leorio reassured him. "She's just fainted."

Gon looked back at Killua's mother. "Why can't Killua see us?"

"Because he's in an isolation room," his mother explained. "Killua hit me and his brother, and then ran away. But he regrets it, and has come back by himself. He imposed the isolation upon himself. When will he decide to go out...?"

Loud beeping noise from her head set sounded through the air and she suddenly began to scream at no one. "But?! Father, why are you disturbing me? No, you shouldn't untie him! No, really!! What does that mean?" She stopped talking to whoever she was talking to and began to walk off. "I have an important matter to settle. Goodbye. Come back when you want."

"One moment please!" Gon called out to her. "We'll stay in the surroundings for about ten days. Could you please tell Killua that?"

"Alright," she agreed. "I'll tell him. Goodbye." She scurried off.

The young girl in the kimono glared at them menacingly before following after her mother.

The group turned back to the brown girl lying on the floor. She began to come to and soon woke up. "I'm going to lead you to the intendant's room," she told them. "There's a phone directly linked to the Zaoldyeck's residence. I'll take you there."


	22. Goto's Challenge

**Goto's Challenge**

"This is it," the girl pointed to a large manor between the trees. Five men stood in waiting at the front door, all in suave black suits. They each had their own intimidating looks.

"Good evening," they all bowed harmoniously. "Please, come inside."

Leorio looked at Kurapica, shocked and relieved at no resistence, but followed along quietly. The inside of the manor was more exquisite than the outside. Gon, after given first aid for his wounds, was sat with the others on a comfy luxury couch surrounded with expensive, easily broken decor. What appeared to be the leader sat in a chair across from them while the other four stood around the room along with the girl.

"Please forgive us for the incident a short while ago," Gon recognized the voice to be the one he had yelled at over the phone a few weeks ago. "Madam contacted us and asked us to welcome you as official guests. Make yourself at home."

"We are really pleased by your attention," Leorio addressed the man. "But we came here to see Killua. If it's possible, could you take us to the main residence now?"

"That won't be necessary," the man told them. "Killua is coming this way."

She couldn't put her finger on it, but for some reason, this struck fear into Stasy's heart. As she feared, she still wasn't ready to face him. The cushion made no sound as she lifted herself from her seat. A disturbed expression on her face.

"Stasy?" Gon looked up at her curiously. '_Is this another one of her personalities?_'

"I can't do it, Gon," tears threatened to escape her eyes. Her lower lip quivered violently. "I'm afraid. I'm afraid Killua still hates me. I don't know how to face him. After what I did..."

"Sit back down," Gon ordered her with surprising firmness. "You can't know how Killua truly feels until you ask him. You will never know if you run away now. And not knowing will only drive you mad."

"B-but what if-"

"No ifs!" Gon pulled her down by the arm. "Found out for sure!"

She sat down quietly, her hands between her legs, and she didn't remove her quivering gaze from her tea cup. Silence fell upon the room.

"Inactivity makes the wait seem longer," the man pushed his glasses up his nose because they were sliding down. "So what would you say if I proposed a little game?"

"A game?" Kurapica inquired.

The man held a single golden coin and he flipped it. In a flash, he caught the coin and smiled. "In which hand is the coin?"

Everyone pointed simultaneously. "Left."

He opened the hand with a smile. "Correct. Let's try it a little faster this time." He repeated his speed doubling. "Which hand?"

Gon observed. "Still left."

He opened his hand to reveal that Gon had been right. "Congrats." The men in black standing around clapped. "Well, let's begin serious things." He flipped the coin, but this time, didn't simply catch it. His hands moved in a flurry in front of him, before he finally settled. "So?"

"I'm not certain," Leorio scrutinized the hands of the man. "It could be the right..."

"You know, I saw Master Killua's birth," he told them. "You could say I have paternal feelings for him. You are trying to take Killua away from me. I hate you. Which hand? Answer."

The carefree feeling before had just been demolished and wasn't helping the young brown-haired girl. She squirmed even more now.

"The left," Kurapica answered.

The man opened his hands to reveal a bent coin in his right. "Madam...she had such a weak voice. I could easily sense that she had had her heart broken. I can't accept it. Before Killua comes, we'll finish it. I'm gonna judge my way."

The men in black all took out long katanas and one held the dark skinned girl, with the sharp edge to her throat. "If you're mistaken once, she's killed. If you are eliminated one by one before Killua comes, we'll tell him that you left, and you'll never see Killua again."

"But Killua..." Gon began but he interupted him.

"Shut up! You are alive because we choose you to be. So it's useless and idiotic to think you can refuse my preposition." He tossed the coin again, and it appeared as if he had twenty hands.

_Crap! Apathy! I need you._

_I don't like how you use me just because I'm cynical._

_You're body too. If you want to die, go ahead. _

_...Fine._

Stasy's shivering countenance became cool and collected as she analyzed the hands.

"Don't use the clock," the man told them. "You have three seconds to answer." He turned to the man hoding the girl in the blue suit. "Cut her throat."

"WAIT!" Leorio screamed. "I choose left!"

"I choose right," Apathy spoke out.

"Me too," Gon answered.

"So do I," Kurapica agreed.

He opened his hand to reveal that it was, in fact, in the right hand. "One down."

He flipped the coin again and this time, it appeared as if he caught it with both hands. Apathy frowned.

_This guy's good._

"Which hand?"

"I choose left," Apathy spoke aloud.

"So do I," Gon spoke aloud.

"I choose right,"Kurapica announced.

The man with the glasses opened his hand to reveal that it was in the left. Kurapica was out. "Alright then..."

"Wait!" Gon called out.

"What? If you're hoping to buy time..."

"It's not that," he assured him and then turned to Leorio. "Can I borrow your knife? Don't worry, I don't have any bad intentions."

Leorio tossed him the knife and Gon removed the eyepatch on his swelled eye. Carefully, he sliced it open and blood poor down his face. He repatched the wound, but this time, the swelling had been gone. "I'm ready. Now I can see better. You can play now."

The man obliged and his hands moved in a blur. He finished just as quickly as he started. "Which hand?"

_I don't know. _

She looked at Gon and then said. "Right."

"Left."

He opened his hands. "It was the left. You're eliminated."

He stood up and two other men in black came over. He fipped the coin and they all moved their hands to catch it in a net of arms. "So, who has the coin?"

Gon smiled confidently. "The one behind me, right?" he pointed over his shoulder to a man in black standing behind the couch. He opened his hand to reveal that Gon was right.

The man with the glasses smiled. "Magnificent!" They all clapped. "The bad joke lasted too long. Please forgive me. But...didn't we manage to have a great time?"

"Gon!" Killua's words came from within the halls.

Apathy tensed up. _I'm outta here._

Gon and the others ran to meet him, but Stasy remained on the couch staring intensely at her tea, which she hadn''t touched once.

"Gon!!" Killua shouted with delight. "Plus Leelio and Kurapica!!"

"Plus?" Kurapica inquired.

"It's Leorio!" said Leorio growled.

"Long time no see," Killua smiled broadly at Gon, pointing at him. "You managed to get here, but you should see your face!"

"Yours isn't so great either!" Gon pointed at him to, smiling.

"So, we should leave, ne? Wherever, let's go! The longer I stay here the longer my mom won't let me leave! By the way, Goto," he turned to the man in black, "Don't listen to what my mother says!"

"I understand," he bowed. "Have a good trip."

"Umm...Killua," Gon stopped him from skipping out the door in his excitement. "Stasy's here also."

The white haired boy froze. He had completely passed over her. He cautiously looked over to the couch to see her head bowed and sniffles coming from her. He swallowed a lump in his throat when she raised he head, but all his worries flew away when he saw her smiling.

"I'm so happy," she laughed, even though tears flooded her face. "You're back to your usual self. I was afraid Irumi's spell was permanent. You scared me back there."

"Uhh...I'm sorry for stabbing you in the chest like that," Killua sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "I'm glad to see that you're alive."

"Well, I died for two seconds," Stasy wiped the tears from her eyes. "Oh, don't worry! It wasn't that long! Long enough to have me fail the Hunter Exam and to lose one of my personalities, Listless, to be exact, but don't worry, I have eight others! You can stab me in the back seven more times, and I'll still live!"

Even though she was smiling, her words held their own feelings. "I'm sorry..."

"No, Killua!" She clasped his hands dramatically. "It is I who should apologize. On the blimp ride to the final Phase, I said some mean things to you! Well, it was technically Apathy, and she doesn't like you, because she thinks you're unprofitable, but that's no excuse! I was rude and uncaring towards your feelings! Please forgive me!!"

"You're still worried about that?" Killua rolled his eyes. "I forgot about it a long time ago. Yeah, yeah, I forgive you. Are we even now?"

Stasy glomped the assassin boy, freshu tears drenching their clothes. "Oh, yes! We're completely square!! I love you, Killua!!"

"Yes, yes! Now get off of me!"

While they battled, Gon walked over to Goto. "Mr. Goto," he addressed him. "You'll be sad not to be able to see Killua, right?"

"Not at all," he remained bowed. "As employees, we don't feel anything towards our masters."

"Bleh!" Gon stuck his tongue out. "Liar."

"Gon," he smiled. "Take care of Killua."


	23. Tower of the Celestial Tournament

**The Tower of the Celestial Tournament**

The sounds of their words were lost in the loud roar of the city. Despite the previous night's drama, they socialized just like usual, as if they were still undergoing the Hunter Exam.

"Why are you so stubborn, Gon?!" Killua shouted in Gon's crunched face. "You're a hunter now! You can stay anywhere you want! So why the hell did you use a stupid traveling visa?!"

"I made a decision," Gon aswered firmly. "I'll use it after I've finished what I have to do."

"And what might that be?" Killua raised an eyebrow.

"Well," Gon began his list. "First, to thank the people who helped me. And most importantly to me..." he flashed the ol' 44 number tag. "..to give this back to Hisoka along with my fist in his face!"

"And do you know where Asparagus-nii is?" Stasy asked, slightly hopeful to meet the curious magician.

Gon became stiff.

They all looked at each other in knowing silence.

"I know where he is."

Everyone turned in shock at the calm Kurapica. The blonde began to walk down the road.

"Is that true?" Gon asked, following.

"How do you know?" Leorio interrogated him.

"Because he told me," Kurapica answered simply.

"During your fight?" Stasy asked.

"No, after the information meeting."

"But there is a connection, right?" Leorio tried.

"Yes," Kurapica closed his eyes, reveling in the memory. "'Concerning the spider, I'm gonna teach you some pretty interesting stuff.'"

Stasy stifled a giggle. _I think that statement has a double meaning. _

"As I didn't remember having mentioned the Ryodan to him," Kurapica continued unawares to Stasy's inner thoughts, "Maybe he heard my conversation with you in the first round or someone told him. Whatever the reason, the spider is the symbol of the Ryodan and only people who are familiar with it call it 'the spider.' It's why information coming from Hisoka knowing this interests me a lot. After the meeting, I asked him to tell me what he knew. He said he's wait for me on the first of september in York Shin city."

Stasy's eyes flickered upwards towards the boys and their conversation. _York Shin? Not the same York Shin brother told me about in my dream? Could it have been a premonition?_

"September first?" Gon exclaimed. "That's over six months from now!"

"What's going on there?" Killua asked.

"Only the biggest auction in the world," Leorio pointed out.

"Yes," Kurapica began his explanation. "Between the first and tenth of september, the rarest objects, undiscoverable treasures, and desired artifacts from around the world are gathered there. All the money addicted people from all over the world come to satisfy their desires. It's the place where the most important assembling of money on the face of the planet takes place."

"You think they'll be there?" Leorio asked.

"Possibly," Kurapica replied. "Even if they're not numerous, there'll be people there with serious relations to them. Sorry, Gon, that's all I can tell you. He should be there that day. If I find him, I'll call you."

"Thanks," Gon smiled.

The blonde haired boy stopped in front of the station. "Well, I'm going to leave you here."

"Huh?" the others questioned.

"We were able to see Killua again and my break is over," he told them. "I have to save money to join the auction sale. From now on, I'm going to seriously look for work, as a hunter."

"Ok," Stasy smiled, waving. "We'll see you again in York Shin, Kurapica."

"As for me, I'll return home," Leorio smiled casually.

"You too?" Gon asked.

"I haven't become a doctor yet," Leorio reminded him. "If I pass the entrance exam of a private university, I won't have pay to high expenses, thanks to the Hunter's License. I musn't wait to start studying."

"Good luck," Gon wished him.

"Yeah," Killua smirked. "Break a leg."

"Why do I think you mean that literally?" Leorio scrutinized him.

"What about you, Stasy?" Killua turned his attention to the recently quiet girl. "Are you gonna leave to search for your brother."

"Well, I planned on using the Hunter's License to search for him," Stasy began. "But since I neither have that, nor any possible leads, I'll stay with you guys. Besides," she hugged the snowy haired boy. "I could never leave the love of my life!"

"Get off of me or I'll seriously kill you," Killua glared.

"Well, it's goodbye for now," Kurapica looked at them one last time, before he left.

"We'll see each other...in York Shin on September 1st!"

* * *

"So, what should we do now?" Gon turned to Killua innocently.

"Are you seriously asking me that?!" Killua shouted at him. "It's obvious."

"What? Are we gonna have fun?"

The boy sighed. "You really think you can manage to hit him even once in the condition you are in now?! Six months or even ten years wouldn't be enough! I'm going to explain this to you simply." He grabbed a stick from the bushes. "This is Hisoka," he drew a little face of the magician in the dirt. "This is Hanzo." He drew the ninja about two inches from the magician and put an arrow between them. "This is the difference in strength between Hisoka and Hanzo. Supposing it's this," he began to drag the stick along the ground for about five meters before he stopped. "You are here, and I'm being generous."

"What about me?" Stasy jumped in between them, all smiles. "How strong am I?"

"You're somewhere over there with Gon," Killua twirled the stick.

"What?!" Stasy growled. "Don't insult me! I'm not that bad! I'm at least a meter from him! And it depends on the personality. Strength is a mental thing too, ya know! Rage is quite strong. I bet if you ticked me off enough, and you're well on you're way, I could defeat you! And if Malevolence came out, well, Hisoka would be a mere pebble in my path!"

"But none of that's ever going to happen, now is it?" Killua prodded her nose with the stick.

"If I didn't love you, I'd hit you right now," she growled.

"What about you, Killua?" Gon pointed at him.

"Me?" he rubbed his chin in thought and then marked a spot about a half meter away from Hanzo. "About here." '_I'm so modest._'

"Haha! Hanzo's stronger than you!" Gon laughed. "But you really are strong! Me, I can't precisely measure the difference between me and my opponent."

"Idiot!" Kilua yelled at him again. "I can't either! It's only an estimation! You'll understand more with experience."

"But ones that can hide their strength are more experienced," Stasy pointed out. "So don't totally rely on your judgement."

"Whatever, Hisoka is really strong," Killua continued. "It's not really surprising if you can't give him his hit back in six months."

"Don't worry, little bro!," Stasy clapped him on the back. "I'll hit Asparagus-nii for you!"

"As if!" both Gon and Killua snorted.

"Ow, you guys are so mean," Stasy recoiled in tears.

"Hey, Gon," Killua ignored the silly girl. "Do you have any money?"

"Not that much, in fact," Gon admitted.

"Neither do I," Killua said. "I know a place where we can fight and win money. The tower of the Celestial Tournament! At 251 floors and 991 meters tall, it's the fourth highest building in the world, so we'll need to board an airship to get there. We'll have to use all of our savings to get there."

"After," Gon said. "We won't have much choice but to earn some money."

"Let's go!" Killua exclaimed and then began to run to the air station.

"Yeah!" Gon smiled and followed him.

"Umm...guys," Stasy called out to there retreating figures. "I have some money. Guys?"

* * *

Stasy hopped boredly on her toes and glared at the immense line they were stuck in.

"Wow, what a queue!" Gon exclaimed searching for the beginning of the line, but failing.

"They're all participants," Killua explained. "Contrary to the Hunter Exam, there's no special required condition. You knock out your opponents and that's ok. The higher you go, the better the fighting skills become. It's the paradise for barbarians."

"Just the place for Gon, then," Stasy derided him as she rested her chin on his shoulder.

After filling out a registration form, they entered into the bottom floor of the tower. The room resembeled a large auditorium with bleachers circling 16 small arenas on the floor. Mindless violence was every where.

Killua sighed happily. "It's been a while since I've been here. Nothing's changed."

"You've been here already?" Gon questioned him.

"Yes, when I was six," Killua relayed to him. "My father abruptly sent me here without asking me. He told me 'You go to the 200th floor and you come back!' At the time, it took me two years. On this floor, they judge what floor you start with, dpending on your performance. If we have to fight somone like Hisoka, we'll never reach the higher floors."

"Numbers 1973 and 2055 to Ring E please!" a voice from the ceiling announced.

"Ah! That's me!" Gon stood up. "I'm nervous!"

"Hey, you passed the test of the door, right?" Killua asked him.

"Yeah."

"In that case, all you have to do..." he lowered his voice to a whisper.

"Hey, I want to know too!" Stasy yelled.

Gon ran down the flight of steps to his specified ring where he met with his opponent. The man was massive, either from fat or muscle, he'd be difficult to push around.

"Hey, look, a kid," Stasy heard the gossip of a few men to her left. "Key kid! If you want to leave, now's the time! This ain't a game!"

"He's immense! He's so lucky!"

"Go on! Throw him out of the ring in one shot!"

Stasy only smiled confidently. _Just wait and see, boys._

The referee stepped up and began the explanation. "We're on the first floor. We evaluate the level of the candidates depending on their performance here. There's a time limit! You have three minutes to show us what you're capable of doing. Ready?"

"If you die, don't complain," the giant snorted.

"BEGIN!!"

The man charged at the small boy. Gon simply lifted his hand and pushed the gargantuan, who was sent flying into the complete opposite side of the arena. Gon was awestruck at his own strength.

Stasy was simply giddy at his previous critics astonishment. "That's my boy! Nice job, Gon!"

"Number 2055," the referee addressed Gon. "You go to the 50th floor."

"Number 2056 and 1342 in Ring B!" the announcer called just after declaring. "Number 2054 and 2039 in Ring A!"

"Let's see who can get the higher floor," Stasy smirked.

"Heh, I'll win," Killua snickered as they parted to their rings.

* * *

"So whatcha ya get?" Killua asked Stasy after their matches were over.

"I got the 170th floor," Stasy smirked with her nose raised high. "But I asked him to lower it to 50 so I could stay with you guys."

"Only that?"

"What do you mean 'only that'?!" Stasy shouted angrily at him. "Do you see that hole in the wall? I made that with my opponent's body! They probably lowered it a little because of the damage I caused."

"They probably _raised _it because of the damage you caused."

"Well, what was your floor mister fancy pants?"

"180, but I was being modest."

"Hey guys!" Gon came running up to them. "What floor did you two get?"

"Oh, fifty!" the both turned and smiled together.

"Really, what a coincidence!" the boy innocently smiled. "Me too! We can go together now!"

"It must be fate!" Stasy smiled and patted his head.


	24. Master And Pupil

**Master And Pupil**

The children walked through the hallways of the 50th floor of the Celestial Tower. Since he had previously fought to the 200th floor, Killua explained how things worked.

"As far as the 200th floor, the building is divided into groups of ten. Only one victory is enough for a fighter to advance to the 60th floor, however, losers are bumped down to the 40th floor. If we pass the 100th floor, we can use a special indiviual room."

"To share a room with Killua!" Stasy clasped her hands together, sparkles in her eyes. "It's like a dream come true! Alright! 100th floor here I come! For sharing a bed, for-"

Killua rubbed his sore knuckles from hitting her thick head. "Stop fantasizing about things. You'll get your own room."

Their attention was stolen as the elevator to their right rang to signal the arrival of a group of fighters. As the shiny metal doors swung to the sides, fighters walked out of the crowded lift. Among the competitors, a young boy with a fuzzy brown head and karate clothes caught the two boys attention. Another youngster their age to reach the 50th floor?

He bowed politely when their eyes met. "Hello there. I'm Zushi, and you?"

"I'm Killua."

"Gon."

"Stasy."

"I had the honor to see your matches!" Zushi exclaimed. "You're amazing!"

"What are you talking about?" Killua asked. "You needed one fight to come here too."

"That's true!" Stasy exclaimed. "You're like us!"

"Oh no, not yet, not yet," Zushi waved off their compliments. "Tell me! From which dojo do you come? Personally, I come from the Kung-Fu Shingen Dojo!"

"Umm...we don't really have one," Killua scratched his cheek.

"WHAT?!" Zushi shouted from the shock. "To be able to reach such a level without guidance. I still have a lot of work to do."

"Well, Killua technically-" Stasy began before a voice head of them interrupted her.

"Zushi! That was good!" a young man in his late twenties, it appears, exclaimed, clapping his smooth hands. His glossy black hair fell to his ears in a disheveled mess. Round glasses circled his kind eyes, and his white button-up shirt wrinkled as much as his hair."You followed my teaching well."

"That's an honor!" Zushi bowed to his teacher.

"And who are your new friends?" he asked the young boy.

"They are Gon, Killua, and Stasy!" Zushi replied with a straight back.

"Nice to meet you," the older man presented the formalities. "I'm Wing. I never thought I would see other kids like Zushi. Why are you here?"

"To become stronger," Killua stated the obvious. "But we're out of money and we wanted to earn some."

"Ah, if you came this far," Wing pushed his glasses back up the peak of his nose, against gravity's hold, "you must be strong. Then you should take care of yourselves and also of your adversaries."

They left Zushi's teacher to cash their winnings of the first floor to a lady behind a counter and a glass window. "Here are your earnings," she said as she slipped them each a small manila envelope. Gon eagerly opened his.

"152 Jenis," the spiky haired boy gazed at the change in his hand with disappointment.

"That's the price of a drink," Stasy stated.

"On the first floor," Killua explained. "If you win or lose, you still receive the price of a drink. But, from now on, if we lose, we earn nothing. On the 50th floor, a victory earns you 50,000 Jenis!"

"5-50,000?" both Gon and Zushi gaped at each other.

"And at the 100th floor, about 1 million," Killua continued, taking his canned juice he had bought from the vending machine. If we pass the 150th level, the reward is over 10 million."

"Killua, you;ve gone to the 200th floor, haven't you?" Gon asked his friend shakily.

"The 200th?!" Zushi was nearly dead from heart failure.

"It was about 4 years ago, and I don't have any money anymore," Killua told him. "It helped me buy cake for four years."

"And how much do you earn at the 200th floor?" Stasy posed the question eagerly.

"To tell the truth," Killua rubbed his chin. "I quit just before the 200th floor, so I don't really know. But at the 190th floor, I received about 200 million Jenis. How about we hurry up a bit, since we weren't injured in the first match? They'll plan another match for us today, for sure."

The kids nodded and they hurried along to the locker where all the contestants of the 50th floor waited for their names to be called. The young ones sat on a bench amidst a group of scary looking guys who couldn't be won so easily. For normal people, that is. The announcer called Killua first and Zushi.

"It's an honor for me," he bowed stiffly.

"It's only a chance of fate," Stasy attempted to cheer him up. "It'll be better in the next match."

"Well, see you guys," Killua waved as he was leaving.

"Good luck!" Gon called out.

"I'll meet you two on the 60th floor, alright?" He called out.

* * *

"This is what you've all been waiting for!" the young woman's voice echoed through the massive arena packed with anxious spectators. Her eyes were bright and her ponytail defied the laws of gravity. "An electic battle between two young boys. But don't underestimate them! Each one has had an extraordinary match on the first floor, and came directly to the 50th floor. They're really strong! Thanks to our videos, let's watch their previous matches again!"

The colossal screen on the wall above the audience flickered to life and replayed the past fights. The announcer began her narration.

"Killua triumphed in a fraction of a second! He knocked out his opponent with one dazzling shot with the sharp of his hand! As for Zushi, using Kung-Fu techniques, and thanks to a precise shot, he ko-ed a giant of over 200 Kg without being injured! Ladies and Gentlemen! You can now use your command boxes for betting!"

The screen shut off the video and displayed the results.

"Oh! According to the results of the voting, Zushi should be the winner!"

Killua stared at the screen, face as placid and furious as a face set in stone. Zushi was squirming in his boots. _I'm dead, I'm dead. I'm so dead. Killua is going to kill me!_

"Well, three rounds of three minutes with the discount of the points and KO!" The announcer lady shouted into her microphone. "BEGIN!"

Zushi immeadiatly switched into his fighting pose.

Killua was impressed. _I see...A gaurd that doesn't give a lot of space. That can't be learned in one day._ He took the first step.

"Oh? Killua is heading audaciously for his adversary!" the announcer narrated the battle.

When Killua was but a step away from Zushi, the young Kung-Fu master shot forward, however, his efforts were futile. Killua appeared behind him in a second, the sharp of his hand engraved into the young boy's neck.

'_Poor boy,_' Stasy thought. '_He's no match for Killua._'

"Sorry, I want to go to the first floor in only one shot," Killua looked down on the fallen body of his opponent.

"CLEAN HIT!" the referee shouted into the noise of the crowd.

"Oooh! A terrible hit from Killua," the giddy announcer called out fervently into the crowd. "A clean hit and a down: 2 poinits! With the rules of points and KO taken into account. The excellent hits are filed in the 'Clean Hits' and are given 1 point. The extraordinary, filed in the 'Critical Hits' are given 2 points, and a down earns an additional point. If a total of 10 points is reached, the fighter is declared the winner! And of course, if the fighter can't continue, its a KO and he forfeits!"

The referee checked on Zushi. "Can you continue?"

"Yes, I'll be ok," he wiped his face as he warily got back up.

The fight continued with Killua clearly dominating over Zushi but this strange little kid would just not go down! '_It doesn't matter,_' Stasy told herself. '_Even if the kid manages to get up after Killua's attacks, Killua will still obtain 10 points before Zushi could even make one!_'

The announcer voice brought Stasy back down to the fight.

"Again! Zushi is on the ground! But he stood up, immeadiately, before the down could be called, so no points for Killua."

Now, the fighters stood still, but ready. They glared at each other intently, each trying to formulate a plan to defea the other. It appeared Zushi came to a conclusion as he began to do a strange swirling motion with his fists. At first, Killua was puzzled, but then he leapt back. Even from this distance, I could see the fear in Killua's eyes.

Then, like the sound of a nuclear bomb, Wing's voice rang out through the loud crowd, silencing everyone.

"ZUUUSHIIII!"

The loud interruption distracted the young fighter and he loked up curiously at his master. Who would've thought such a clam, small man could yell so loudly?

* * *

After the fight, Gon and Stasy waited for Killua outside the arena. The familiar puff of white hair was not hard to spot.

"Hey, Killua, over here!" Gon called out. "I got 60,000 Jenis!"

"I've got some problems," Killua ignored Gon's enthusiasm.

"Was he strong?" Gon questioned him.

"No, not at all," Killua replied. "He's talented; he'll become strong, but he's lacking. His punches are too slow, and he couldn't read any of my movements. But still...I couldn't crush him. Plus...when he changed his guard, I got the same impression as when fighting my brother. I can't really say what, but there was something bad about it. There's a technique behind all of this. I heard his master say something about "Ren."

Killua then began to explain what he heard over the eavesdropping of the teacher and student.

_"Forgive me, master!" Zushi pleaded desperately to his sensei, head bowed. _

_I told you, Zushi, don't use 'ren' yet," he scolded his pupil. _

_"I'm so sorry!" Zushi apologized humbily. "He was so strong, I couldn't tell what was happening to me and..."_

_"I know," Wing knelt down to his pupil. "Wanting isn't a bad thing. But your goal is far away from that, isn't it? The top of the tower... One who is obsessed with winning reduces his own abilities."_

_"Yes, master!"_

_"Here, you must be prepared to lose one thousand times!" _

_"Yes!" _

"'Ren'?" Stasy mused.

"Gon, I've changed my mind," Killua smiled. "I want to reach the top."

"I'll just be happy if we can reach the 100th floor," Stasy sighed.

"You're such a lech, aren't you?" Killua sighed.

"Only when you're concerned, my love!" Stasy squealed.


	25. The Line Between Genius And Insanity

**A/N: **Here's the next one for ya. I know this fanfiction is unbelievably close to the main storyline, but I like to keep it as though it were the original show, just with another character thrown in there. It's fun to see how it all changes. Anywho, enjoy.

**The Line Between Genius And Insanity Is Paper Thin**

"Ahh!" Stasy let out an exasperated sigh as she fell on her back and sunk into the soft cushion of the bed. "Our own room! Feels so nice!"

"What are you doing here, Stasy?" Gon questioned her. "Your room is next door."

The girl sat up and began her pouty face. "Come on, Gon, my cute li'l bro! You wouldn't coldly kick your bigger sister out like that?"

"But we're not related...at all," Gon quirked.

"Stasy, get out of here," Killua kicked her off their bed. "I went through the trouble of arranging you another room, so you better be grateful and take it!"

"But, Killuaaaaaaaaa..." Tears began to form in her eyes. "I think..that...Mel just might come out."

"Who cares," Killua stated flatly, picking her up by her collar and tossing her out. He quickly slammed the door on her and locked the dead bolt. '_That should keep her occupied for a while. I'm sure she'll find some other way in._'

"You're always so mean to her, Killua," Gon paled at the sight of his anger for the girl.

"I don't see why you're so _nice_ to her," Killua rolled his eyes. "Doesn't she annoy you?"

"Well, sometimes, but its the kind of annoyance with feeling," he tapped his chin in thought. "I've never had siblings, so when she says I'm her little brother, it makes me very happy." He gave the sweetest smile to pierce anyone's heart, even Killua's.

The young assassin's face blushed just a bit, before he quickly hid his inevitable heart beat. "Well, if you put it like that, then I guess we're like brothers, so you can treat me like family too."

"Ok," Gon smiled happily.

* * *

Stasy ran eagerly to the two boys. "Did you guys see me?" she jumped up and down giddily. "I've never seen so many zeroes in my life! We're gonna be rich!"

"Wait till we reach the 200th floor," Killua snickered, then his face fell serious. "But I'm kinda surprised. The first time I came here, it took me two weeks to reach the 150th floor. We've done it in only 3 days."

"Yeah, but you were 6 then," Gon reminded him.

"That's true, but..."

"Oh! By the way," Stasy piped in. "I saw Zushi on the TV a while ago.

"Me too," Gon replied. "Looks like he's still on the 50th floor. You know, the thing we talked about earlier, the Ren. I wonder what it could be."

"If we go higher, we'll surely meet guys like Zushi," Killua stated.

"Wouldn't it be better if we just asked Zushi?" Gon suggested.

"'Ren' is one of the four basic principles of the big training," Zushi answered them after they had asked. "The four principles of the training are the very basis of every fighting technique evolving spirit elevation and its hardening. Finding the 'Ten', learning the 'Zetsu', succeeding the 'Ren' and reaching the 'Hatsu.' All of these form the 'Nen' practice. That is all." He bowed politely.

"I don't understand anything!" Killua yelled at him.

"Zushi," the calm, commanding voice interrupted their conversation as Wing walked around the corner. "Since when have you become strong enough to teach others? Gon, Stasy, Killua, there's an old saying: 'We understand even less of things when we have half of the information than when we don't have any at all.'"

"'Nothing is more dangerous than half-knowledge', is that it?" Killua perked an eyebrow. "But I want to know, because there's a relation between this and my brother's secret."

"You mean your brother uses Nen?" Wing asked curiously.

"Yes," Killua asnwered. "Would you mind teaching it to me now? Even if you don't, I'l just discover it by myself. But I won't be content with half-knowledge. I want to understand everything. If you accept and teach me, I won't misuse it."

"It's ok, come to my flat," Wing told them as he led them to his home.

When they had been led to Wing's home, they all gathered around the teacher and listened intently.

"What we call 'Nen' has the meaning of 'Inflamming Spirit,'" Wing began his explaination. "We can rename it with the strength of the will. The four mosr important principles are practices to increase the will. With Ten, which means 'the point,' we can concentrate our spirit on one thing, we also think about ourself, and we choose the objective. With Zetsu which translates to 'Language', that thought becomes a word. And then Ren, the 'finishing', enlarges the will and Hatsu, the 'projection', sends the will into motion. The Ren that Zushi used corresponded to the thought 'I won't lose.' But nothing is better than practice. Killua, I think I'm going to kill you. Do you mind?"

"No, no," Killua replied bluntly. "You shouldn't be able to."

"Let's proceed in order," Wing closed his eyes to show his concentration and even took a deep breath. "Ten."

He opened his eyes. "Zetsu. You can say the words in your head or out loud. Either way works." He looked directly at Killua. "I'm going to kill you."

Then all of the sudden, his eyes opened wide into a dark glare and such an oppressively dark aura pushed the children back. Stasy looked around curiously, wondering why everyone was flying back; Gon merely jumped back, and Killua managed to climb up a corner and hide on the wall.

"That was the Ren," the man pushed the rim of his glasses back up the peak of his nose. "If the Ren is powerful, the Hatsu is too. Express your superiority with a cry, and without movement, you'll make your enemy move back. You could also call it a bluff. After some time, the Ren becomes stubborn, and we lose the ability of discerning good and bad things. That's why, if the spirit isn't ready, it's more reasonable to wait. You, as much as Zushi, are in an apprenticeship phase, the formation of the spirit. If you want to learn Nen, you must first be dedicated in Ten. When you've master Ten, you won't be repelled by the psychic aura of your opponent." Wing sat in a wicker chair, hands on crossed legs, smiling business-like. The demonstration was over.

Since they knew they couldn't scower anything else out of the man, they left with a "Thanks a lot!" and began their musing aloud over what they had just learned.

After the children had left, Wing stared at the door for a long time. Zushi came up to his master humbly.

"Sensei, why did you lie?" he inquired of his teacher.

"I didn't lie. I just merely told them enough to fend off any strong opponent. I can't put such a dangerous weapon into their hands yet. Besides, that girl, Stasy. Her Nen flow was quite irregular. It was suppressed, to almost non-existance, unlike the others which were clear and exposed like people who had never heard of Nen. She had the Nen flow of an expert, precisely controlled and critical, unlike anything I've ever seen. That girl actually had an invisible Nen shield around her. That's why she was able to with stand my Ren."

"But she looked sincerely clueless about Nen," Zushi argued. "I really believe she's never heard of it before. Do you think it comes to her naturally?"

"Zushi, have you forgotten the most basic common sense of Nen? Even Nen masters must dedicate some brain power to Nen control, at whatever level. To hold up a sheild and suppress her power so that it was only visible when a strong Nen force was present, such a fiet would require a great amount of concentration and to have it all day round. The average human only uses about 10 of their brain, even when thinking to a great extent. That girl, she must be using about 45 of it daily."

"Is that why she's a little...bird brained all the time?" Zushi chuckled. "The rest of her brain is being used up?"

"I'd like to say that, but...Anyway, let's start on your training, with the Ten formation."


	26. The Real Nen

**A/N: **This one's rather long and wordy, but for people who are unfamiliar with Nen, this is an important chapter. And guess who comes back!

**The True Nen**

The children had just recently cleared the 190th floor and were now trying to find their way around the registration floor to make it to the 200th floor, for thei next battle. Gon and Killua were discussing the 200th floor when Stasy suddenly perked up and looked at their next turn.

"Asparagus-nii?" She muttered before running ahead of them.

"Stasy?" Killua followed the disappearing trace of the girl.

However, just as they turne the corner, they were met with an ominous aura, pushing them down. They found, not Stasy, but one of the women in the Celestial Tower uniforms.

"Gon and Killua, are you not?" the tired looking woman smiled kindly at them. "The reception is on the other side. Please register today for the matches on the 200th floor. You have until midnight tonight. Please respect this timetable or else your registration wil be refused. Actually, 172 candidates are registered on the floor and are waiting. Also, weapons are allowed from this floor up. You may carry some. Another thing: from now on, you won't be given anymore awards. Fights are now on honor and participation gives self-satisfaction."

"Is it her?" Gon whispered to Killua.

"I don't know...look!" He pointed to a figure in the back.

There they saw none other then Hisoka, sitting on the ground, back leaned against a wall, and his arm around the young Stasy's waist, who was standing beside him, looking blankly at the boys gaping at them. Of course, the magician had a new outfit for the new occasion of the tower.

"What are _you _doing here?!" Gon demanded him.

"Why so surprised?" Hisoka smiled at them. "I love fights and this is the capital of fights. I should be the one asking you, shouldn't I? It's not just a coincidence. I was waiting for you. You obtained your flying tickets thanks to the electronic network, didn't you? With some manipulation, its easy to find where, when, and how someone moves. Next, I used a private plane and arrived before you at the air port, where I followed you. But, as your elder, I'm gonna teach you something. It's still too soon for you to walk on the ground of this floor."

He waved his free hand and the boys were instantly blown back by the very force of his energy.

Stasy snapped out of her trance at the sight of Killua in pain. "Ah, Killua!"

Hisoka glanced at he girl and he only smiled more. "I also came to meet my cute little 'sister' over here. We've just been _dying_ to meet each other since the Exam. She, however, can make the 200th floor, but for you two, it's still too soon. Come back another time."

"Are you kidding?!" Killua shouted angrily at him. "We've made it here and..."

The boys were met with double the energy from last time. "You won't pass. Actually, you _can't_ pass."

"Don't insist," Wing's voice came from behind. "In front of his Nen, you have almost no defense. If you make your body endure anymore than this, you'll surely die."

"You're saying it's some Nen and he only has to think 'You won't pass' for that to happen?!" Killua barked ngrily at the glasses man. "Yeah, right, you big fat liar!"

"Well, I'll admit I lied. I'm going to explain the _real_ Nen to you. But let's start by leaving this place."

Gon looked at the clock hanging on the wall as it just turned 8:20 PM. He turned to the quiet clerk lady and asked, " If today we could not register, what would happen?"

"You, Gon, would have to restart from the 1st floor," she replied lazily. "But Killua has already refused the registration before. To do so again would be considered an opposition of the registration, and registering again would become impossible for him."

"Whatever," Killua turned away, wiping the sweat from his face. "We shouldn't stay here. We will be back by midnight."

"Stasy and I will be playing until then," Hisoka licked his lips and hugged Stasy even tighter to give Killua the wrong impression.

"Hey, Stasy's coming with us!" Killua spat at the magician.

"No, I think we'll play together, and maybe I'll teach her something useful," Hisoka responded with a smile, but a sort of venom, that made Stasy's smile drop.

"Killua, just go," she ordered him sternly. "I want to play with Hisoka, as well. So just go without me. I don't need your supervision where ever I go."

She merely stared at Killua's slightly hurt expression as he left with only a shrug, following Wing and Gon. Hisoka chuckled at the young girls coldness.

"I'd prefer if you had used Melancholy," he mused. "She would've pleaded him to go with tears in her eyes and with a face that would tug at any man's heart. You're so uncute, Apathy."

"I did what I had to do," she replied coldly. "Otherwise, you would've killed him, right? Your aura grew stronger with each word he spoke. And besides, is it true you're going to teach me something useful?"

She couldn't deny that his giggle didn't chill her to the bone. "Something like that."

* * *

The two boys gaped at the daisies protruding from the broken vase, which had, until Wing thrown the plants, been in the vase. Water trickled from the cracks as the stems of the flowers softened back to their original state.

"That's the real Nen," he gestured towards his now broken vase. "It's the ability of freely manipulating the vital energy, also called "aura", that comes out of the body. Everyone projects a small part of this vital energy, but in general, it's only a simple, uncontrolled leak. We call the technique that allows us to regulate it is called Ten. Thanks to this, we strengthen our body and protect it considerably from aging. Zetsu is the tehnique which allows you to split from your aura. It's efficent, for example, when you want to erase the traces of your presence or recover from exhaustion. Ren is the technique which allows you to make your aura rise in exceptional occaisons."

They were silent for a short time, before the children went rigid and looked at each other.

"Do you feel it?" Wing asked them.

"Yeah, but it's not a bad feeling," Gon commented.

"Yeah, there's only a small pressure," Killua added.

"Because I don't want to injure you," Wing answered their curiosity, then continued with the explanaition. "The aura is the energy that comes out of the human body. That's why we can make use of other human beings to give it optimal utilisation. In the good, as well as the bad meaning of the term. If a bad spirit attacks a man without defense, he can kill him with only his aura. There's only one way to protect his body form the users of Nen:using Nen ourself, and protect ourself with Ten. We repel the opposite aura with our own aura. Otherwise..."

He held his hand up to a wall, to demonstrate his meaning. Within seconds, a huge crater full of cracks formed on the stone surface. The boys stepped back in horror. "...The body is split into shreds."

"To awaken a force that sleeps, there are two ways," Wing held up two fingers to physically show the conversation. "By taking our time, or by provoking it. With Zushi, we're taking our time. He learns fast, and puts a lot of effort into it. That's why he quickly mastered Ten. It took him about six months."

"No, that won't work!" Killua argued. "We only have until midnight, and I want to destroy the wall of Nen put up by Hisoka!"

"Then we'll have to provoke it."

"How long will that take?"

"Depends on you. Will you be able to master the technique that keeps your aura in your body? Because it's only this." He held up his palm to face the children. "Now, I'm going to send you my aura. It's called Hatsu, it looks like what I already showed you."

Killua and Gon took a step back, looking at the massive crater behind their teacher.

"Of course, you don't have to worry; I don't have the intention of destroying your bodies. It's a rough technique, but it's goal is to surprise and provoke the awakening. I'm going to send waves into your lethargic bodies and make the Ten more accessible. The lethargy means the Shouko, or "openings" in your body, are closed. Consequently, the aura can't develop well. Thanks to the aura that I'm going to send into your bodies in one shot, we'll force the opening of Shouko. Normally, we learn to feel our own aura with prayers and meditation, after having realized that the aura envelops the whole body, we can let it open bit by bit. That'swhy it takes a long time. Even Zushi, who's gifted, took three months to succeed. But you, you would only need a wekk, even less. That's all we can regret. With your situation, we have to be content with that unsatisfying way."

"I don't understand," Killua interrupted Wing's speech. "It seems better to me to wake up quickly."

"It's a secret technique called Gehou," Wing explained. "It doesn't respect the legal order. If a person who isn't mature enough, or has bad intentions were to practice this technique, he would die."

"But Wing, you are mature enough and don't have bad intentions," Gon suggested.

"I've got something to ask," Killua stepped in. "Why did you decide to teach us the true technique?"

"Arriving at the 200th floor without knowing anything, you could have problems," Wing smiled. "The members of the group on the 200th floor are all using Nen. And when new participants who don't know anything arrive, they 'baptise' them. They attack with their Nen much more violently than what I'm going to do to you. The one's who survive can stay. But the price is expensive. You'll understand what I mean when you fight them, but I want you to discover that beforehand. Put yourself in a T-shirt and show me your back."

The boys stripped of their jackets to reveal loose, sleeveless clothing. They were already sweating and Wing hadn't even touched them yet. The sat nervously, awaiting their new teacher to begin the process.

"I'm going."

In an instant, the boys bodies flew upward, their mouths and eyes open in shock, as if they had just been electricuted. A bright life began to engulf them, and they looked at themselves in awe.

"You can see it, can't you?" Wing didn't need an answer. "That's because the Shouko of your eyes are open."

"It's water vapor! Yes! Like water vapor!" Gon gaped at his glowing hands. "It's exactly like water vapor escaping from a kettle!"

"It's suddenly all over my body!" Killua hopped around, feeling strange with the new light engulfing him. "It's sprouting from everywhere!! Is this normal?"

"It's vital energy," Wing reminded them. "So if you cotinue to let it escape, you'll feel tired. In the end, you won't be able to stand upright."

"So it sucks?!" Killua jumped.

"Are you ready?" Wing shouted at them. "You're going to use the thought, Nen, to try to contain your aura. Close your eyes, whatever position that you can visualize it easily. Next, think your aura is a liquid that scours all over your body. Eyes closed, from the top of the skull, passing by the right shoulder, hand leg, then the left side...then the flux stops progressively. A picture of a halo that surrounds you and undulates your mind."

The spazing aura about them begn to calm down to a dim light. Wing couldn't help but praise them. '_They're unbelievable. They understood without me telling them that the nature of their bodies is suitable for Ten. Only one piece of advice was necessary for them to master it. It's amazing, but worrying...'_

"Open your eyes slowly," Wing ordered them. "How do you feel?"

"I feel like I'm inside liquid," Gon answered.

"Yeah," Killua agreead. "Like I'm wearing light clothes."Try to picture this in your mind everyday. When you get used to it, you'll even be able to use it in your sleep." Suddenly, Wing's aura flared up. "Now I'm going to project some Nen and channel some hostility to you. If you can avoid it, you'll be able to destroy his wall." He raised a hand lazily. "Let's go."


	27. To Not Be Human

**A/N: **Bad, Hiskoa! Bad! You'll see what I'm talking about. Anywho, plot starts rolling in. Enjoy!

WARNINGS: Slight sexual talk, cussing

**To Not Be Human**

The orange hair magician watched the teary-eyed glare of the litle girl hiding in a corner and not keeping her alert eyes off of him. He thought his downgrade from "Asparagus-nii" to "Carrot-nii" was a suitable punishment for "playing" with her and discovering a shocking secret of hers, but now he was receiving the silent treatment.

"Listen, Mel, I'm sorry," he attempted to soothe the child. "I was just curious. You don't have to be mad at me."

"Do I look like Rage to you?" She spat at him, tears escaping her eyes. "I'm just...hurt. I trusted you Asp-I mean, Carrot-nii! Even if I'm young, I know that that was wrong!"

Hisoka sighed and stared at the clock, not taking in the time, only thinking about what had transgressed earlier. He had ascertained a terrible secret that he was sure no one, but her real brother knew about. He figured her age accounted for her flat-chestedness, but he didn't know she actually _didn't_ have any female parts whatsoever.

'_Nor male parts, either. This 'girl' has no reproductive organs at all. Is she even human? Well, even if she does have nine lives, does she not realize she's different from everyone else? Well, I don't suppose she's ever seen another naked human before, but..._'

Hisoka's eyes flicked to the hallway as he could sense his two little apples coming towards him. '_Just in time,_' he thought, as he began to create his ominous aura. Gon and Killua turned the corner and walked confidently up to Hisoka, their aura's spilling about them.

"Welcome to the class of the 200th floor!" Hisoka jestered. "It's seems you'll be able to pass without undergoing baptism." He turned his golden eyes on Gon. "I can imagine that which brought you to the Celestial Tower. You intended to confront me after training here, correct?"

"The only thing I couldn't have expected was to see you here," Gon glared back at him. It makes it easier for me to win sometime."

"You've become quite confident since you've acquired Nen," Hisoka smiled. He put two of his pointer fingers in the air, and they began to glow a bright pink. "The Nen is quite deep." The connected the aura between his fingers and created pictures in between such as a spade and a skull. "To speak openly, as you are now, I don't want to fight you. But...come out victorious from only one fight in this group, and I'll be your man."

He walked towards Mel, and reahed to touch her, but when she flinched from his grasp, he withdrew, appearing to be hurt, but no one could tell his real emotions. He disappeared down the depths of the hallway. Once the alarm went down, the boys withdrew their Nen and ran over to Stasy.

"Are you ok?" Killua asked her with concern. "Did he do anything to you?"

Melancholy gazed up at him with large, watery eyes, her lower lip trembling dangerously. Instantely, she leapt up into his arms, unable to contain her cries. "I'm sorry, Killua! I'm sorry! I am unpure! You can no longer be the first man to touch me! But don't worry, I'm still a virgin, oh, but I've been tainted! Your future wife has been touched by another man! Curse Fate! Curse Carrot-nii! I couldn't help it! He used his Nen to paralyze me! I couldn't move! He said it was a 'game!'"

"That bastard!" Killua growled, as he held the sobbing Mel in his arms. "I'm sorry, Gon, but next time I see him I'll kill him!"

"At least wait until after I've defeated him," Gon protested.

"I'd let go of her, if I were you," Wing's light voice penetrated the sound of Mel's crying. "You'll feel rather exhausted if you don't."

"What do you mean?" Killua snapped back, slightly offended.

"You may not realize it now, since your beginners and can't watch the flow of Nen perfectly, but I can. I have noticed, watching you three, that each time you touch, she steals a little bit of your aura, each time. Since its only a little, and you recover it after sleep, you don't notice the change, but if she continues to cling to you like that, you won't be able to stand."

"Wha..What are you talking about?" Mel sniffed, looking at the man, but refusing to escape from Killua's arms in which she had longed to be in for so long.

"It seems that you sincerely don't understand what's going on, Stasy," Wing nodded to her. "I believe you when you say you've never used Nen before. However, it seems you're body has been producing and stealing Nen unconciously. I have observed you three in the past few days, and I've noticed that each time she comes in contact with any living thing, that being will tire, the degree of fatigue depends on the length of contact."

"Come to tihnk of it," Killua said as he looked at the innocent girl. "Everytime you glomp me I do feel mentally tired."

"I don't think that's the cause of it," Gon interjected.

"Anywho, wrapping yourself around her like that might not be so good of an idea," Wing pointed out.

Killua stared at her and then leapt away as if she were a freaky ghost. Mel only shrunk smaller in her depressed black cloud.

"So I'm no greater than a parasite, huh?" she muttered darkly to herself. "I can never touch the idol of my love ever again?"

"I wouldn't say that," Wing held up a finger and then folded his hands behind his back. "It's still your body. As long as you learn to control your aura, you can stop from sucking the vital energy out of people."

"H-how do I do that?!" she dashed to Wing, the bright light of hope glittering in her wide eyes.

"Practice containing your Nen, like Gon and Killua," he gestured towards the two boys. "You already have your Shouko open a little, you need only to meditate and train on controlling your Nen, so that you can open your Shouko fully and then contain your aura."

"Alright!" Stasy kciked her heels in the air and then ran back to Killua and Gon, grinning broadly as if she had neverr been crying and bowed. "Please take care of me, my senseis!"

Gon looked at the clock which just struck 10:46. "We better get going guys."

"You're right," Killua began to walk off. "Thanks Wing, for your guidance."

"Yeah," Gon chided in.

"Yes, thank you very much!" Stasy waved spastically at him as they ran off.

* * *

"Welcome to the 200th floor," one of the ladies working in the Celestial Tower handed the children some forms with a bright smile. "Please sign the inscription form. Do you also want the one to join in the fights?"

"Come again?" Killua raised an eyebrow.

"In this stage, there's a system of fights' declaration. You dispose of a preperation time of 90 days. This system allows you to fight the day you want, with a delay of three months. Of course, you can fight whatever the day, and even wait the time limit for it, after your first fight, you again, dispose of 90 preperation days. Please note, that if you don't participate in any fights within the delay period, you will be disqualified and your inscription will be cancelled."

'"After the first fight...'" Gon remembere Hisoka's words. "You mean, in this group, we fight several times?"

"You'll need 10 victories to pass this level," the clerk explained. "But if you total 4 defeats before your 10 victories, you're declared a loser. But, if you obtain 10 victories, you'll be able to challenge the Floor Master! The Floor Masters are the 21 most prestiguous fighters! Each one lives on a floor between the 230th and 250th floors! You understand what that means, don't you? You defeat the Floor Master, you become the new one! That's not all! Because if you can become Floor Master, there's a special even that takes place every two years on the last floor, and you're given the right to take part in it!" She brandished her arms extravegently, to demonstrate the grandeur of the honor of Floor Master.

The children stared back at her blankly. "Apart from this, is there anything else in the last stage?" Killua asked her.

"WHAT?!" the woman shouted back at them. "If you win the last floor becomes your domicle! It's said to be the highest point in the world! That's a great honor! Plus, you're offered a super rare treasure!"

"What are we gonna do?" Killua spoke softly with Gon. "Now that I know the secret of the last floor, I'm not interested in it anymore."

"Neither am I," Gon replied. "If I can fight Hisoka, that' enough for me."

"I'm just happy we made it past the 100th floor!" Stasy sighed.

"You have to win once," Killua ignored Stasy and continued his discussion with Gon. "You're gonna wait a little while, aren't you?"

"No, I want to know the difference in comparison from our previous matches."

Stasy suddenly frowned and turne to look behind her. There were three men, one in a moped with strange headgear on his head. Another one, tall and lanky, with strange indentions in his face for eyes, and another tiny one with a mask that looked like something out of an uncreative horror film.

"A problem?" She asked them cooly.

"No, no," the tall man smiled kindly. "We also want to fill out a form so we're queueing."

"I think they want me to choose the same day as you," Killua loked over to Gon.

"For me, the day doesn't matter," Gon quickly marked the form and handed it to the clerk lady.

"Me neither," Stasy chimed in as she too, marked her form and handed it to the clerk. Killua also filed suit.

"Good," the lady held up three keys with long keychains attatched to them with the room number on them. "Gon, you're in room 2207, Killua, room 2223, Ecstasy, Room 2218. We'll tell you when the date's fixed."

* * *

Hey, Gon, look," Killua pointed to the TV imbedded into the wall o the luxurious room. The screen read "The Date of the fight has been settled! Fighting room of the 225th floor, March 11th at 3 PM."

"The 11th," Stasy mused. "That's tomorrow, isn't it?"

Stasy turned around and found a flared up Gon, his bright green aura gglowing around him. "I don't think I'll win tomorrow," He clasped his fists. "But I don't care! I want to test his new force! I'd like to know how it's gonna work."

Killua smiled at Gon's eagerness. "Well, then we better start training then, huh?"


	28. Hair Net

**A/N: **It feels like forever since we last saw Stasy fight. Althought its short, enjoy!

**Hair Net**

"Today is the day of a fight that seems to be fascinating!" The boisterous voice of the locquacious announcer rang throughout the stadium. "He came here today throwing everything on the table, and didn't wait to enter the scene: Gon! Four victories and one efeat in five meetings!"

The young boy, Gon, stared intentively at his opponent, the strange masked man with no legs, only a single wooden peg on which he balanced himself with a cane. His dark purple cloak hid all other features of the hooded man, rendering him the appearance of a ghoul.

"Ready?" The referee looked at the two ready opponents. "BEGIN!!"

Immeadiately, Gon's Ten flared up and he bent his knees, waiting for the ghoul to attack. However, the ghoul took its time and pulled out ten identical red tops. They glowed a fierce orange with his aura and began to spin on their own, atop his leveled game.

"You're lucky to start with me, kid," the masked guy chuckled. "Because I have no strength. So you won't die!"

"That's it!" The announcer leapt out of her seat. "Guido has revealed his spinning tops! He throws ten spinning tops that he manipulates to attack!"

"Let's go!" Guido flung the tops towards Gon. "The Waltz of Combat!"

* * *

"Three fractures and twelve cracks in your ribs," Killua sighed as he looked at the bandaged mass that was Gon. "It'll take 4 months for you to recover. Stupid animal!"

"Sorry," Gon stuck out his tongue with no sincere feelings to his apology.

"I don't care about your apologies!!" Killua fiercely poked Gon in the forehead. "What the hell went through your mind?! You saw what happens to people who come here without knowing Nen, right? A bit more, and you would've been finished like them! Consider yourself really lucky that it didn't end worse! Why do you think four-eyes taught us this stuff?"

"I know, but..." Gon trembled under his chastisement. "I thought everything would be ok, and I endureed his attacks several times! If I was able to protect my vital points, I wouldn't die!"

"Whatever, just never do something so stupid, ever again!" Killua kicked his face with his foot, causing further injury to an already wounded boy.

"I guess I'll have to undergo Stasy's-I mean Rage's scolding now, right?" Gon rubbed his nose after Killua removed his foot.

"If she even saw the fight," Killua rolled his eyes.

"What do you mean? She wasn't there with you?"

"No, I haven't seen her since this morning. Four-eyes said she's been asking him for guidance and training."

"She really hates the idea of not being able to touch you, doesn't she?" Gon smiled.

"I think I'd like it that way," Killu grumbled, and then he turned serious. "But if her body naturally does that, don't you think it'll be dangerous for her to stop? I mean, have you ever really seen that girl eat? There's something strange about her, besides her psychological issues."

Before the conversation could progress further, a knock resounded from the door and Killua left to allow none other than Wing to enter the room of the hospital section of the Celestial Tower.

"F-forgive me," Gon trembled at the firm grip Wing had placed on his shoulder and the extreme ferocity in his eyes.

"No way!" Wing growled back, then turned back to Killua, hand still holding Gon prisoner. "How long will the convalescence last?"

"About two months," Killua fibbed.

"I see," Wing turned back to Gon. "For two months, it is forbidden for youto fight, Gon, and I won't even let you excercise Nen, or study it! If you don't respect these conditions, I'll consider myself to have nothing to do with you anymore. What do you say?"

"Ok, I promise," Gon let out a sigh of relief and mentally thanked Killua for shortening his punsihment term.

"Give me your left hand," Wing commanded. He tied a red piece of yarn around Gon's pinky. "The Wire of Pledge. When you look at it, you'll remember your promise."

"Yes," Gon nodded, examining the red string.

"Killua, you come with me," Wing jutted his thumb over his shoulder and led the white haired assassin away.

"Zushi is waiting for us at the hotel," he said after they had walked into the busy hallway. "If you don't mind excercising with us..."

"No, for me, that's ok," Killua said as he began to walk off. "I don't like acting on my own. If Gon keeps his promise, I'll resume with him."

Wing smiled softly. "Tell Gon that even if he can't practice the Sensation Nen, he can still practice the Inflammation Nen. Tell him to do the Ten of Point everyday!"

Killua waved to signal his understanding and was lost in the crowd.

* * *

The silver haired boy walked down the hallway to Gon's room, contemplating what he had just saw at Hisoka's fight. It was gorey, no doubt, and only further proved the insanity of the infamous magician.

Killua stopped dead in his tracks as he slowly closed the door to Gon's room behind him. He stared in blank awe at the young country boy balancing on only his hands.

"Oh, Killua," the onyx haired boy noticed him. "I was just about to visit you!" He flipped back onto his feet.

"And...your injuries?" Killua managed to voice out.

Gon flipped about for a while and then clasped his fists. "Perfect! I think I'm totally healed!"

Killua couldn't believe this kid. He recovered in only one month a four month's time expecte to heal. He was as inhuman as Stasy. '_Speaking of Stasy..._'

"Have you heard?" Killua went back to his sanity. "Stasy's fight has been decided. It's today. Do you wanna watch?"

"Of course!" Gon jumped with glee. "I'm eager to see what all this 'training' she's been doing has resulted! I've barely seen her since we first got here!"

"Me too," Killua said.

"Sorry, Gon," Wing suddenly appeared in the doorway, which caused the boys to jump, "but watching a fight is also a way of learning Nen. You can't go."

"Ahhh, but I spent my money on two front row seats," Killua pouted. "Who know how many boxes of chocolate I could've bought with that money!"

"It's ok, Killua," Gon smiled. "Go without me. I'm not gonna break my promise so soon."

"You do know that you can record a battle on the TV, right?" Killua whispered to him after Wing had left, and without another word, he skipped off.

* * *

"The match between Ecstasy and Sadoso is about to begin!" the anouncer raised the crowds spirits with her own sky-high one. "Ecstasy is the only girl of her age to have made it this far in the history of the Celestial Tower! At the young age of 13, she's astounded audiences with her surprising amount of power and speed, along with her loveable personality, she's even won herself some fans in the crowd!"

At this, Stasy winked and blew kisses causing the roar of the audience to grow even louder and won some whistles from a certain crowd.

Killua protruded his lower lip and glowered at the cheering spectators. '_She's gonna get a swelled head._'

"And her opponent, Sadoso, also known as the rookie hunter!" the announcer introduced Stasy's opponent. "With his Noh mask and one arm, he may not seem formidable, but watch out for his invisible arm! What will the outcome of such a battle be? Well, ladies and gentlemen, we're about to find out!"

Stasy smiled sweetly at the blank face of her opponent. Although it didn't show under his mask, Stasy could feel this guy silently laughing at having to fight a little girl. But here in the Celestial Tower, underestimating an enemy could mean certain death.

"Are you ready?" The referee looked between the two. "BEGIN!"

Immeadiately, the atmosphere around Stasy's became dark and her purple aura emitted from her evilly chuckling form. The cheers from the crowd suddenly fell silent, as the once sweetly smiling girl sent shivers down everyone's spine. She plucked a single hair from her haid and wrapped it between her fingers between both her hands, and it was immeadiately engulfed in her purple Nen.

"I'll show you who can't win without moving a foot!" the young girl growled venomously.

Killua turned to Wing, who was sitting next to him, and sweating more than anyone else in the arena.

"W-we got into a disagreement during her training," Win explained. "She thought that with her new technique she developed, she could win her next match without moving a foot. Of course, I told her that was ridiculous, and she seemed to take offense when I told her 'You can't do it.' I never knew she could be so proud."

Killua swalloed a lump in his throat as he looked at the beast Wing had just awakened. Sadoso was dead meat.

"Never say 'can't' to me, four-eyes!" Rage growled furiously at Sadoso, who looked at her quizically. It appeared that in her rage, she had lost sight of reality.

She thrust her hands apart, and ten long brown spikes, which Killua recognized to be the hair she had taken from earlier, flew straight for Sadoso, who quickly dodged them. And in the place he previously occupied, huge spikes broke the concrete ground.

"After showing her the flower example," Wing answered Killua's astonished look. "Stasy found her weapon of choice to be 'the one thing that defines her,' her hair. For a girl, I suppose a love for hair would be normal, but with her it seems unnatural. Even if hair is technically 'dead', it can still be considered a living thing, and thus can conduct Nen like any other living thing. Channeling her Nen into her hair, she can make it as hard as steel and change it length, width, flexibilty and even movement. It's similar to Hisoka's 'Pansy Gum' technique, but with her hair, she can actually sever a man's head off."

After running from Rage's deadly hair, Sadoso, finally decided to go on the offensive, but to the normal eye, nothing happened. Killua could infer that he was using his "invisible hand", he'd heard about. Instantly, a thick net of hair flew up in front of her, and blocked the unseen attack. Sadoso stepped back, appalled that she had executed such a feat. And once the wall of hair retracted back to the little wisps around her fingers, he saw it. He once tawny eyes were glowing a bright and fierce purple.

"Gyo," Wing said. "If you concentrate the Nen into your eyes, you can see other people's Nen as well."

Killua glared at him darkly.

"Well, she begged," Wing put his hands up defensively, "and you refused to train until Gon trained, so..."

"And that's a KO, folks!" the announcer interrupted them. "With her astounding technique with her hair, Ecstasy had just swung Sadoso around ruthlessly and slammed him into the floor! Sadoso is unconcious and declared unable to continue. Ecstasy wins!"

Within minutes, the battle had finished. Wing and Killua didn't even see the finishing blow in the few seconds they were turned away. Rage looked up at them with one of the most eerie smiles Killua had seen in his assassinhood. Discerning from her smug look, they could tell she hadn't moved an inch since the beginning of the fight.

Hisoka smiled, almost proudly, from the top row of the arena. His little "sister" had just creating an even more powerful technique than his "Pansy Gum." Excluding the fact it could be seen, Stasy's technique was almost invincible. '_I wonder if she'll give it a clever name_,' he thought as he walked away.

* * *

"_Hair Net technique_?!" Killua and Gon repeated dumbly.

"Yeah, because I can create a net with my hair around my victim, rendering them immobile!" Stasy pointed out.

"But...that's..." Gon began, but then Killua finished off his sentence with, "such a lame name!"

"You can do more than just ceate a net with it!" Killua argued.

"Yeah, but that's its defining trait," Stasy protested. "I can't think of a better name than that!"

"Hair Whip or something!" Killua threw his hands in the air dramatically. "Anything would be better than _Hair Net_. You know, naming your signature move is as important as creating it to any respectable fighter."

"Well, that's the name and I'm sticking with it," Stasy stuck her tongue out at him.


	29. Must Unite!

**A/N:** Sorry for the long wait. I've been trying to think up the battle plan for _Possessed_ and I haven't been inspired enough to start on _The Greatest Treasure_ again. Well, I've got a gift to make it up to you all. A picture of Stasy (and the others). (check my profile)

* * *

**Must Unite!**

"From now on, we're going to begin the preperation for Hatsu," Wing announced to the children. "If you manage to master it, you'll have the nescessary basis to control Nen. Afterwards, you'll have to refin those basics and add your own originality, and create your own Nen. Let's begin.

"The Hatsu is the technique consisting in releasing the Nen. In other words, you will finalize your Nen's skills. It's divided into 6 categories: Emission, Transformation, Reinforcement, Manipulation, Realisation, and Specialisation. What's important for you is to find which one fits. Nen's abilities are linked to the character of each person. The first aptitude is the one we get at birth. The second, is the one we acquire during our lifetimes.

"For example, Gon has a supple, and agile muscular structure, which he was born with. He developed accuracy of his five senses while having fun outside. Following the same principle, we know in which of the six categories we belong to according to the qualities we have when we are born. If you want to learn one of these six abilities, you'll have to decipher which one fits you best."

He produced a dry-erase marker from his pocket and began to mark the white board in his room. "This is the diagram showing the six abilities." On the board, there was a hexagon, with each of the six types on each of the verticies. "The categories are place in the order of affinity. For example, if your aura predisposes to Reinforcement, you'll learn it easily and quickly. After Reinforcement, stands Emission, for which you'll probably have affinities. You'll learn it easily too. Inversely, it'll be hard for you to learn Transformation, which is at the opposite end.

"Hisoka had the skill os using his aura like gum, so it's transformation. Guido uses spinning tops and his increased strength as weapons. It's Reinforcement. To be able to directly spin tops, as a weapon, you must know manipulation as well. This ability didn't fit him, and the efficiency is limited.

"Stasy, your Hair Net attack uses Manipulation to move and grow your hair, however, it also uses Transformation to change the properties of the hair to whatever you want."

"But those categories are no where near each other," Stasy pointed out.

"Exactly, which makes you weird. Naturally, trying to master the other abilities takes more effort the farther away you get from your parent category. For you to have mastered both, without any of the others in between is frightening."

"I think I have the answer," Stasy raised her hand as she had seen Gon do many times. "I have Multiple Personality Disorder. Does this pose a problem?"

Wing and Zushi stared at her in calm shock. That actually explained a lot of things. Wing pushed his glasses up the peak of his nose, trying to remain calm, despite the sweat he was emitting. "Well, Nen is as much psychological as physical. Since your character is so...seperated, each of your different personalities might have different parent categories. I think you might need to explain this to me in detail."

So, Ecstasy told her story, of the nine personalities, well, eight now that Killua killed one, and Wing listened intently to each word. After her story came to the present, he sat silently in a simple, wooden chair, musing and contemplating over what he had just learned. Finally, he spoke.

"From what I can surmise, each of your personalities holds one of the categories, except for one, which might have a similar one, or no category at all. From what I've heard of this Malevolence, she's so powerful, she just might control all of the categories already. We'll just have to try and figure out what each one is. This may take a while..."

"Is there a way to figure out which category you belong to?" Killua asked.

Wing nodded as he produced a thin wine glass from his cupboard and placing it on a table. He filled it with water, and then plucking a leaf from his ficus and placing it ontop of the rim of the water. "The Water Technique. It's a way of distinction at the Shingen Dojo, but also a way of practicing Hatsu. We approach with our hands and start using Ren," he demonstrated for the children. "Thanks to the change that undergoes, we understand."

As the children gazed intently, the water began to bubble up over the room, and soon its contents were continuously pouring over the sides.

"The quantity of water has changed; this is a sign of Reinforcement. It shows us that my aura has affinities with Reinforcement. Who will be first then?"

Gon eagerly came up to the table and began to project his Ren towards the water. Just as Wing's had done, the water grew in quantity and flowed over the rim of the wineglass.

"For Gon, too, it's Reinforcement," Killua grinned, eager to find out what he was.

Next, it was Zushi's turn. "The leaf moves," Wing told them. "That's a sign for Manipulation."

"Finally, it's my turn," Killua anxiously came up to the wine glass. Everyone watched eagerly, but nothing happened. Killua looked up at Wing, questioningly.

"Taste it," he smiled at them. Killua stuck his finger in the water, and then in his mouth.

"It's..sweet..."

"The taste of the water has changed; it's a sign for Transformation."

"What about me?" Stasy pointed to herself. Now she was eager to see what hers looked like.

"Hmm...you're personality disorder might tamper with the results..." Wing began, but Stasy was already at the wine glass.

"First we'll see what I am and then-" Her voice was cut off as the glass exploded in her face.

"Stasy! Are you okay?!"

Wing ran to her and looked at her face, sopping wet with the water. He froze. She had a terrifying look on her face. Her eyes were wide and her eyebrows pushed aggressively together. But just as soon as Wing saw it, her the look disappeared and Stasy looked around at her wet clothes. "Aww, man...Sorry, Wing, did I jump the gun?"

"No, I don't think that's it," he grabbed a towel and handed it to her. "Maybe you're personalities are not as split as they seem."

"Huh?" Stasy looked curiously at him.

Wing shook his head. This girl would never understand. "No, nevermind. Everyone else, you now know what category fits you best. In the next four weeks, you'll work on these practices so that the results become much more obvious. Stasy...you need some serious meditation. You're brain is so messed up, it seems you won't be able to fully control your Nen until you become one person."

"One...person?"

"There's dischord in your soul, you could say," he picked up the pieces of glass. "Your Nen, your _energy_, reflects who you are. You are so split up that your Nen is as well. I'm afraid you won't be able to progress much further unless you revert back to one person. You were not a blank person when you didn't have the different personalities, were you? You didn't conjure up these personalities. They split off from your true self. You need to unite them again."

Wing left her to ponder on these things while the boys practiced. Killua couldn't help but steal glances to where the young girl sat on the floor next to the window, staring at her hands with a look of utter pugnacity.


	30. Bye Bye, Celestial Tower

**A/N: **I'm working on _Possessed._ I swear. It's just that I'll do a little bit and then my mind will wonder off so its going rather slowly. It'll come soon, I promise. Till then, I'll dish out the GT.

* * *

**Bye Bye, Celestial Tower**

"I can't believe Wing shot that one on us," Gon exclaimed as he walked down the corridors of the Celestial Tower with Killua. "I never would've guessed that learning Nen would've been the Secondary exam. It kind of stinks for Stasy though. She's come all this way and still isn't a Hunter."

"Don't remind me," Killua grumbled, guilt rising in his throat. It was his fault she was one step farther from reaching her goal. "Speaking of, how's she doing with her 'training?'"

"I don't know," Gon shrugged his shoulders. "She's locked herself up in her room this whole time. What Mr. Wing said to her really shook her up. The thought of becoming one person really seems far-fetched to her."

"Well, she needs to get over it," Killua fumed. "I bought tickets for hr to go see your match with Hisoka, and I'm not gonna let valuable money that could've bought candy go to waste! I'll go talk to her!"

Gon smiled as Killua stomped off to Stasy's room. '_Isn't that just an excuse?_'

* * *

Killua opened the door clowly, peering his around the door into the dark room. The blinds were drawn so that only a few rays of sunlight escaped into the room. He made out the girl's crumpled figure hugging her knees on her bed, fiercely glaring at the wrinkles in her sheets.

'_She's such a dram queen_,' Killua sighe as he walked into the room, but kept the door open for more light.

"Hey, get up, freakazoid, it's time for Gon's match," he ordered her.

She remained unmoving, her lips moving but no noise coming out.

Killua sighed again and sat down on the bed next to her. "Listen, there's no need for you to worry about joining your personalities together again, ok? They were split for a reason. I'm sure you can ask your brother about this when we find him, alright? Now, I bought these tickets, so we could watch Gon's match together, so will you get up already?"

Stasy turned to him, smiling brightly, so much that it almost lit up the room. Killua felt his heart gave a slight twang like when Gon smiled at him. He stood up quickly and turned away to hide his blush. '_I guess it's a family thing. What am I saying? They're not even related!_' He glanced over his shoulder at the grinning girl scrambling out of the bed. '_But I guess even she can look cute sometimes._'

"Come on, let's go," he walked towards the door, the auburn haired girl following after.

"Yes, my love!"

* * *

The arena was loud with the cheers of the spectators. Although this annoye Stasy very much, she only smiled brightly on the outside.They had some decent seats in the center of the crowd next to Wing and Zushi. Stasy didn't mind the distance from thee ground level. With her Gyo and keen eyesight, she could watch the match perfectly fine.

"So who're you gonna cheer for?" Killua asked Stasy.

"Gon, of course!" she gave him the "duh!" look. "After what Carrot-nii did to me!"

"Oh yeah, that's right," Killua muttered as he turned his attention back down to the two opponents facing each other.

"But don't worry, I think Gon's safe for a little while."

"Huh?"

"It's that Carrot-nii realized after violating me that it was too early. Well, it'd always be too early in my eyes, but to him, he didn't get as much satisfaction from it as he would've at a more...mature time. He's gonna wait until he can enjoy Gon to his fullest. Just as long Gon doesn't act too cute and enticing to speed up his demise."

"If that's the case then Gon's doomed," Killua sighed, leafing his fingers throuh his silvery white hair. "Of course, I'd never let Hisoka get anywhere near Gon in any other situation."

Stasy could feel Jealousy rising within her. _Sure, you'll protect Gon, but I'm easily expendable._

Stasy snapped out of her envious musings when the crowd gave loud cheer.

"Clean Hit! One Point for Hisoka!" the judge shouted.

Indeed, Gon did have some inflammation on the side of his cheek, but he still looked eager to battle.

"I didn't move from my spot since the beginning, see?" Hisoka pointed out to him, a smug look on his face.

"Huh? Really?" Gon exclaimed. "I'll show you!"

Stasy slapped her forhead with the butt of her hand. _Oh! Gon! Stop acting so cute! It's a wonder you haven't been eaten yet, since you're such a weirdo magnet!_

Gon leapt from his spot towards Hisoka, feinted a punch, moved t an incredible speed in front of Hisoka so he saw many little Gon's, and then dashed to the side. With his amazing strength, he lifted one of the slagstones, and kicked it so that billions of pieces of rubble exploded eveywehere. He easily blocked all of the flying debri, however, in doing so, he lost sight of Gon. But Gon had not lost sight of him. He reappeared to Hisoka's side, and sent his knuckles deep into Hisoka's cheek.

Stasy couldn't help herself. She leapt up along with some of the crowd, but cheered louder than anyone else.

"WHHOOOO!! GO, GON!! YOU GIVE HIM A GOOD HIT FOR YOUR OLDER SISTER!!!!"

As Stasy screamed her head off, Gon and Hisoka moved walked so that they were closer together and Gon held out a number card with "44" printed on it. Hisoka took it, the smirk never falling. Then they leapt back, so that they were a safe distance apart.

"You're the Reinforcement type, aren't you?" Hisoka asked Gon.

:"Huh? How'd you know?" Gon jumped.

"Ha ha ha! You're so cute. I got you so easily."

"Agh! Shut up! How'd you find that out?"

"It's like judging someone on their blood type: there's no point to it. It's just an analysis I've been thinking about, is all. The one's that develop Reinforcement are simple and pure!" He pointed a finger at the boy.

_True,_ Stasy admitted.

"And I'm from Transformation, unstable and a liar.

_True._

"We have good complementarity due to opposite characteristics. We could get along well. But you have to be careful, because the Transforation Nens are unstable. What was important the day before, is trashed the next day."

Stasy tensed at that last line. How could she ever think this guy was like her brother. He hadn't trashed her...right?

"Don't disappoint me, Gon," Hisoka said before charging, following with a series of combos. Hisoka was more fierce than before. Poor Gon was being thrashed, but luckily managed to dodge his lethal kick, which raised one of the slagstones that went hurtling into the crowd. _On the other end, luckily_, Stasy thought.

"A critical for Hisoka!" The judge called out. "More points! Three to Two!"

"Come here," Hisoka ordered the boy.

"No way!" Gon stuck his tongue out between breaths. "I'm preparing for my next attack."

"Then I'll make you come to me," Hisoka raised his finger.

"Gon! The Gyo!" Killua called out, but it was already too late. Hisoka had already attached his pansy gum to Gon's left cheek.

* * *

Hisoka swung Gon around easily. Although Gon was holding up well, whereas any other person would've fallen into despair, it seemed that while Hisoka was tossing him around, there was no way he could fight back. The judge himself could see this, so after a round of punching, he called out "One critical to each side! That's two points each. And one more point for a down! That's nine to four!"

"What?!" Gon shouted in indignation. "That wasn't a down! I got immeadiatly back up and was even on guard!"

The judge stood by his decision. The cowd yelled angrily, booing him, with Rage being the loudest. "Yeah, come up here, lame excuse for a judge and we'll see who scores some points!" If it wasn't for Killua holding her back, she just might've gone down their and kicked his ass.

"Inattentiveness is your worst enemy, Gon," Hisoka chuckled. "Look to your right." He pointed.

Gon quickly looked over to his right, only to be hit with a slab of rock from his left, sending him flying.

"Ah, sorry, that was my right," Hisoka smirked. "I meant left. While you were complaining to the judge, I attached my pansy gum to a stone. Without you realizing it, I shrank my pansy gum."

"Down and critical for Hisoka! Two more points! Eleven to four! Hisoka wins by points!" The judge raised his hand into the air.

"You made great progress," Hisoka said over his shoulder as he began to walk away. "But you still need practice. If you confront me ten more times, we might have an interesting match. But that's only if we fought in the Celestial Tower. I won't fight here with you anymore.Next time we'll confront for real in a world with no rules where we risk our lives."

With that said, he left the arena with its loud spectators and Gon staring fiercely at his retreating back.

* * *

"That stupid arbiter!" Rage fumed. "You just let me have a little 'chat' with him, Gon, and we'll make sure you'll have another, _fair_ match with Carrot-nii!" She flexed her biceps and put one hand on her muscles to show her meaning.

"No, no," Gon shook his head and his hands, smiling nervously at Rage's enthusiasm. "It's alright. I would've lost anyway. I still need to refine my Nen."

"Well, since Gon's finished what he came here to do," Killua piped in, "how about if we go to Gon's place?"

"Really?" Gon looked at him. With how long they spent here, he pretty much guessed they'd live here forever.

"Yeah, I would like to meet Mito."

"Mito," Stasy put her finger on her chin. "Isn't that your aunt? Oh, well then I simply must meet Auntie! Any other relatives of ours?"

"Well there is Grandma," Gon replied, although he couldn't help but notice how she used "ours."

"Then, let's head off!" Killua exclaimed in an unusually cheerfull mood.


	31. A Rocky Start

**A/N: **Wooh! This is a long chap. Well, longer than the usual. Well, enjoy! R&R!

**A Rocky Start**

A pink haired, middle-aged woman vigorously snapped the white sheets in the light breeze. She held the soft cloth to her nose and frowned. '_That ad lied,_' she thought to herself. '_This smells nothing like a waterfall._' All of the sudden, there was a great gust of wind that blew all of her slicked back rosey locks into her face. In the motion of pushing the hair back behind her ears, her sharp eyes spotted a coming figure across the hill.

"MITOOOO!" Gon's voice carried over the winds, causing the woman's heart to flutter with excitement. Gon was back.

* * *

"If you're gonna come back, let me know!" Mito cried in frustration, scurrying about the house in a frenzy. "I haven't prepared anything! And you even brought friends over!"

"It's ok, Mito," Gon smiled sheepishly.

"Not with your friends here!" She remained steadast. "By the way, you haven't contacted me, since you phoned me saying that you passed. Also, take a bath before supper, and leave your clothes out, I'll wash them."

"Eh? Together?" Gon blushed.

"Why, what's wrong with that, you're both boys," Mito stared at him and Killua.

"It's just that-" As if on cue, Stasy sprung through the door, carrying an arm load of apples.

"Sorry, Gon, I saw these and..." She trailed of as she saw Mito staring at her, her face pale and expressionless.

"GON HAS BROUGHT A GIRL HOME!!!" She shouted, and her frenzy from before paled in comparison to her freaking out now. "This is the first time! Oh my gosh! It's never happened before! What should I do?! Should I be hard on her, and pressure her? Or should I be kind to her, and act as a motherly figure towards her! She's young, but we could act like girlfriends, and we could shop together and I could do her hair and we could sew together and do laundery together and-"

"Mito! Mito! Calm down!" Gon called out to her, and slowly her spazzing lowered to a restless fretting. "I'll introduce everyone. This is Killua," he pointed to the white-haired boy who gave a little wave, "and this is Ecstasy, Stasy for short. I met them at the Hunter Exam."

Stasy stared at Mito, slightly frightened at how much she was freaking out at the sight of her, and anxious to speak with her. This was Gon's aunt, so that meant she was her aunt as well. She could feel Timidness rise up within her. She began to twiddle her thumbs, hunch her back, and look anxiously at Gon every few seconds, and then, afraid of Mito's gaze, towards an interesting potted plant.

"Well, then, you boys can take a bath, and then Stasy will take one later," Mito appeared to have calmed down fully now.

"Ah! Why can't I just take a bath with them?" Timidness was fully gone now that Mito had spoken. "I want to see Killua without any clothes on!"

Mito froze and looked at her in a shocked expression. Killua was morphing his hand into a deadly weapon, ready to slit her throat. Gon seemed to be the only one unaffected.

"Stasy, we'll feel uncomfortable taking a bath with a girl," Gon pointed out to her. "Especially Killua."

"Why?"

Everyone looked at her. She was completely serious.

'_This girl has no shame!_' Mito thought with righteous fury. "I take it back, Stasy, in the bath now! You have ten seconds!"

"Wha-but-"

"TEN! Nine!"

"Waaah!"

Stasy ran through the hall and leapt into the bath. She pouted, sitting on the rim of the tub as she filled up the bath with steaming water. _No fair_, she grumbled.

* * *

Stasy stared down at the small bowl of rice in front of her, and then glanced over to Gon and Killua's large platters of fried beef and vegetables. She suddenly didn't feel very hungry. "Um, Auntie, how come-"

"You will address me as Mrs. Mito, understand?" She snapped angrily at Stasy when she had spoken at the table during dinner. The atmosphere was so intense that none of the boys dared to speak.

"Um, yes, ma'am, I mean, Mrs. Mito," Timi shrunk in her chair. "Um...I was wondering why I only had a small bowl of rice?"

"Are you complaining?" Mito glared at her. "Such an ungrateful child! You must've put so much trouble on my little Gon! You shouldn't bother with such a shanmeless brat, Gon! Asking for mor fodd and she hasn't even touched what was given to her."

Timi soon turned into Mel as she shrunk lower in her chair, till she had her nose on the table. Then, she stood up, but not too high, as to draw too much attention. "I-I'm n-n-not hungry. I-I'll just w-wait outside."

Not asking for permission, she dashed out of the house, leaving the dinner atmosphere utterly destroyed. Killua frowned deeper, as the fried vegetables suddenly looked unappetizing.

* * *

"Don't you think you're Aunt's taking it a bit too overboard?" Killua asked Gon, as they went through a hike in the woods. "I haven't seen Stasy all this time, and when I do, Mito's biting her head off to the point she's become Melancholy all the time now."

The trees suddenly broke off to reveal a cliff and a spectacular view of the starry sky. Killua sat down on the lush grass, the chill of the night refreshing after a hot day. Gon sat down next to him, looking serious.

"I've never seen Mito act so cruel to anyone before," he tried to defend his aunt. "I think what Stasy said that one time made her very angry."

"I guess you could call it parental protection," Killua shrugged. "She probably thinks Stasy's some terrible pervert now, though she's not far off."

And Stasy was looking so forward to meeting her, too," Gon sighed.

Killua glanced over to thhe starlight reflecting in Gon's deep eyes. Killua frowned deeply. His aunt really was going too far, to make Gon have such a forlorn expression now. He can make Mel cry all she wants, but when Gon starts to cry, he doesn't care if its his aunt, she was going down.

After star gazing in the country side for a while, the boys began to feel drowsy, so they headed back to the house. The warm glow of the lights from the windows guided them home in the dark. If it wasn't for all the noise she was making, they probably wouldn't have noticed Melancholy crying next to the stairs.

"Woah, Mel, what's wrong?" Gon ran up to her.

"I-I was...in Gon's room," Mel spoke through sobs. "Just...hic...lookin' around the house...when Auntie came in...she saw me...got mad...and said...s-she said...I-I couldn't...ever see Gon again...ever...I wasn't doing anything! I swear! I just wondered what Gon's room would look like, and now she-I can't possibly part with my sweet little brother, Gon!"

Gon already cradled Mel in his arms, when Killua stood up abruptly. Gon watched curiously as he stomped into the house, and followed after to see what he was going to do. Mito was snapping a towel angrily, when she noticed Killua glaring at her.

"Don't you think you'fe gon a bit too far?" he demanded of her.

"What do you mean?" she looked curiously at him, slightly shaken by the lethal expression he carried.

"Bullying Stasy," he pointed out. "I can see why you would have reason to hate her, but she hasn't done anything wrong! All she ever wanted in coming here was to meet you. She treats gone like a brother, so she wants to treat you like family too, but the way you torment her so ruthlessly you're only ripping her up from the inside! She's got the point. Now stop being ruining Gon's stay back home, or you just might make him leave early."

Mito stared at him, agast. She had dropped her towel, but managed to keep her mouth closed. Seeing that he had gotten the point across, he walked back to the door to see a surprised Gon. When they came to meet, Gon said, "I can't believe you'd care for Stasy so much."

"Don't get me wrong. It wasn't for her," he took another step so he was side by side with Gon. "Seeing Stasy like that was making you sad." Without another word, he walked outside to the loud sobbing of Mel.

Gon stared out the door, a feeling gratitude towards his best friend.

The next day, Mito made strawberry pancakes for everyone, including Stasy, and even put a little extra fruit on hers. She even picked up Stasy's plates when they were finished, as the boys ran out to go play. The ceramic ware clinked as Mito put them in the sink. She turned to see Stasy slowly trudging towards the door.

"Umm...Stasy?" she caled out just loud enough for her to hear. "Can I have a word with you?"

The young girl turned around with hope in her eyes, and returned to the kitchen.

"Listen, I'm...sorry for my behavior these past couple of days," she occupied herself with washing the dishes. "It was out of line, and completely rude to a house guest. I'm truly ashamed of myself. Well, it's just that...you didn't exactly give the right impression, and the way you always fawn over Gon like that, and when you said you wanted to...well...take a bath with them. I seriously feared for Gon's safety," and then more quietly she muttered, "and virginity..." Then she spoke back up, head remaining high, but still refusing to face Stasy. "So therefore, I'd like to apologize. I'm sorry. So let's start over again." She turned around and gave a start at what she saw.

Stasy was smiling blissfully, tears in her eyes, but smiling happily, nonetheless. Mito found herself blushing slightly. She'd only ever seen this girl looking humble and crying. '_I guess even she can act cute sometimes,_' she admitted, before smiling weakly herself. "It's nice to meet you; please call me Auntie Mito."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Auntie!"

* * *

Now that their quarrel was finished, Mito and Stasy seemed to be the best of friends. Stasy was with her 24/7 and helped with all of the household chores. Mito taught Stasy to sew, do the laundry, cook, and even showed her baby pictures of Gon, which Killua was greatly envious of after she boasted about it to him. They would always giggle to each other everytime he walked by. Killua didn't mind though. As long as Stasy kept that euphoric smile, he held no complaints.

Beside, it also meant more time to spend with Gon. The black haired boy showed him all around the forest, where he met Kaito, was attacked by the mother Fox-Bear, and all the places he and Kon used to play. By the end of the day, they rested under the velvety night sky at their favorite star gazing spot. They had laid on the ground in silence for what felt like hours.

Finally, Killua spoke up. "So, what are you going to do now, Gon?"

"Hmm...I'll rest as I collect some information in August," the boy answered after thinking for a while. "I'll start looking for my father in York Shin. There'll probably be lot of hunters there."

"I see," said Killua as he sat up. "What should I do?"

"What?" Gon looked at him quizzically. "You should stay her and come to York Shin with me."

"No, I mean, I think you're great."

"HUH?" Gon looked at him with a sense os awkwardness falling over him. He wasn't following Killua.

"I don't have things I want to do. I have a lot of things I _don't_ want to do, like staying home or taking on the family business. I envy you."

Gon gazed at his friend and then smiled. "I'm happy when I'm with you, Killua."

Those words sent a tremor through Killua's heart. He had dreamt of these words before, but they held so much more effect when spoken by the real thing. He couldn't stop the rush of red to his face. "Wha-what are you saying so suddenly?"

"This Whale Island is for fishermen to stay during their trips. There's only a few real residents, and the only other child than me is a little girl named Nouko. My studies were through distance education from home, so Killua, you're my first friend. Well, Stasy technically became my friend after you, and I guess you could call us siblings, more than friends."

"You're my first friend, too," Killua pretended to be gazing up at the stars, though he was actually trying to avoid Gon's gaze. "I wa always locked up at home, refining my assassination skills."

"And are you happy when you're with me?" Gon asked him seriously.

Killua stared at his wide, hopeful eyes. _More than you could ever know..._ "Yeah, I guess so."

"So let's go together to different places and see different things! I'll look for my father, and you look for what you want to do."

Killua smiled softly. "I guess, that's not bad."

They lay in a sweet silence after that. Killua breathing in every minute they were together.

* * *

Mito and Stasy were putting away the dishes, when Gon and Killua came into the kitchen. The once dismal air that surrounded the two had coompletely vanished, as though it never existed. Gon smiled warmly at Stasy's ecstatic frenzy about the kitchen as she helped Mito clean. "Ne, ne, Auntie!" she called out to Mito, as she put some dishes into the cupboard. "Are we going to go to the market later? I'll help you carry the groceries!"

"Thank you, Stasy," Mito replied with a motherly smile. "I'm so glad to have a little helper. We'll leave later, ok? Until then, you can play with the boys. You came here to rest, and all you've been doing is helping me around the house!"

Stasy nodded gleefully, and then skipped over to Killua, who was sitting by the window with Gon in the boy's room. Her happiness must have been contagious, because he found himself smiling as well. "You seem to be one happy individual."

"Yes! I feel like the luckiest girl in the world!" She sighed and fell onto Gon's bed, rolling along the sheets and giggling giddily. "This reminds me of the time I was helping Granny. Do you remember my story? That was how I, Ecstasy, was born. I feel like I'm back in that time." She let out a deep sigh, calm now, and stared at the ceiling. "How many years has it been since then?"

"Try not to think about it to hard or your head might explode," Killua retorted, but Stasy didn't snap back. She was too happy.

Only a few minutes later, Mito crackedthe door open and popped her head in. "Umm...Gon?"

The little boy looked up from the window. "Yes?"

"How long will you be staying here?"

"A month or so."

"Then you'll go to search for Jin?"

"Yup!"

She left the room, but soon returned with a strange box. She gave it to him. "Jin told me to give this to you when you became a Hunter."

Gon looked up at her, his mouth hanging open. The others stared too, interested.

"I'll tell you everything...Everything I know about Jin."


	32. The Box

**A/N: **I had this one nearly finished for the longest time, I just needed to wrap it up. Oh, well, it's finally here, even if a little late. Enjoy!

**The Box**

Stasy couldn't remember when she had fallen asleep. She had been so hyped up the night before, wanting to know about "her" father. She looked next to her on Gon's bed and saw Killua sleeping deeply. The morning light on his face illuminated his white hair causing him to have a sort of heavenly glo about him. The thought of stripping him right then and there came to mind, but she knew that wouldn't get her anywhere far.

"I'll just settle for this," she chuckle to herself and gave a light peck to his soft cheek.

"You're really dangerous, Stasy," Gon said from behind her. "Mito had good reason to be angry with you."

Stasy nearly shot through the ceiling, she jumped so high. She had forgotten to check if the rest of the room was clear before attacking the little assassin. "Heheh..yeah, well..."

She flipped back around as noises hinting to Killua's waking sounded softly from beside her. Killua awoke silently, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "When did I fall asleep?" he looked around taking in his surroundings.

Stasy quickly turned to face Gon, so that Killua couldn't see her face, and put a finger to her lips. Gon smiled and nodded.

"Oi, Killua," he walked around to the other side of the bed. "You're awake."

"Obviously," Killua stretche his arms and gave a mute yawn. "So, what about the box?"

Gon retrieved it from his dresser and handed it to his friend. "It's strange. I can't open it, even if I try."

Killua surveyed the odd receptacle. It was identical on each side, and their didn't appear to be any latch or lid. "Can I force it?" he glanced up at Gon.

"Sure, I tried to."

Killua took a deep breath, and then twisted the little metal box with all his might. Veins had even popped out on his arm and he sweated greatly. However, the box hadn't so much as budged. Finally he gave up.

"This is no ordinary box," he stated. "I can twist open an iron box, even it's welded. I don't know what's inside, so we can't break it open." He put it next to his ear and shook it greatly. "There's no sound." He frowned, thinking, as he tossed the box in the air an caught it again.

"When you become a hunter..." Stasy muttered to herself. And then it hit her. "Hey, maybe...There's something we haven't tried yet."

"What?" the boys looked at her.

"There's something you have now, that you didn't have before the Hunter Exam," Stasy held up a finger at Gon.

"Oh! I know!" Gon exclaimed. He whipped out the lamenated card. "The Hunter's License!" He picked up the metal box and observed it. "There doesn't seem to be an opening..."

"That's not it," Stasy sighed. "Nen!"

Gon took the box and held it in his hands. Stasy could see the warm glow of his Nen travel through his hands and into the box. There was a great flash and then all sorts of metl pieces flew apart. There, on the floor, was yet another box. But this one was more rounded and had an obvious lid and lock.

"Inside the box, is _another_ box?!" Gon cried.

Killua picked up one of the metal pieces and scrutinized it. "Just a normal piece of iron. There's no sign of glueing at all."

Stasy looked over at the new box. "Will it open?"

Gon picked it up. "Hmm..maybe if I insert the card here..." He put his Hunter's License into the small slot and there was a _clak!_

"Bingo!"

They eagerly flipped the box open, to find a velvet cushion inside housing a ring, a cassette tape, and a ROM card.

"Should we listen to the tape first?" Gon aske as he retrieved a cassette player from his closet.

"Yeah, and copy it too," Killua added.

They set everything up, all hunced around the old cassette player. Each of them swallowed as Gon pressed the "play" button. There was silence for a while, and then a man's voice said, _"So, Gon, you became a Hunter too? I need to ask you something, do you want to see me?"_

None of them dared to speak.

_"If you want to see me, keep listening, if not, then just press 'stop.'"_

Stasy and Killua glanced at Gon, but he didn't budge.

_"Yes, eh? One more question then. Are you prepared? Hunters are selfish people. They leave things behind for things they want. If what you're feeling is 'I want to see you if I can', then just stop the tape now. I'll give you a minute."_

Killua glanced over to Gon. "What're you going to do?"

Gon just smiled, and remained still.

_"Heh, you want to see me that badly, eh? I don't want to see you. Frankly, I don't know how to face you. I gave up a father to be what I really am. Quite selfish. It'll be at least ten years before you listen to this, but during that amount of time, there's something that'll never change. I am what I really am. So, i'm doing some crazy things while you're listening to this. If you still want to see me, find me. But, as I said before, I don't want to see you. I'll run, if I know you're close. Catch me. You're a Hunter too, right?" _

"You're father isn't an easy person to deal with," Killua snorted. He made the motion to press stop, but Gon stopped him.

"Wait. Jin's still there."

_"Ah, I forgot one thing. About your mother...if you want to know, keep listening. Otherwise-"_

They would never have the chance to hear thse words, because Gon pushed the "stop" button. The other two looked at him curiously. Stasy, frankly, wanted to know about "their" mother.

"You don't need to?" Killua asked him.

"No," Gon shrugged nonchalantly.

"There might be clue," Stasy interrupted.

"No, there probably isn't. In short, I don't want to know. Mito is my mother." He got up and walked to the door. "Let's eat."

Just as he said that, the cassette player began to make noises and glow with an aura. "Gon! The player's moving on its own! Nen! It's rewinding the tape with Nen!"

"How? Now? From where?" Gon paniced.

"He put Nen in it 10 years ago," Stasy answered, leaning over the cassette player. "Saying, 'when it stops, rewind.'"

"But why?" Gon asked.

"Beats me!"

They froze as it gave another _clak!_ "Now it's recording! I get it!" Killua exclaimed. "He's trying to erase his voice!"

Gon frantically pushed buttons. "I can't stop it! I even unplugged it!" He held said plug in his hands.

"Sorry, Gon!" Killua icked the player up in his hands. "I'm gonna break it!" He smashed the machine with his fist, but it remained in tact.

"Damn!" the boy cursed. "It's guarded with Nen!"

The noise of the player stopped. Killua ran back to it, and pressed play. Nothing. "Even the copy tape is erased."

"Why did he have to go this far?" Stasy asked.

"He didn't want to leae any trace of himself. You can find out a lot of things from just one voice. Height, weight, sex, age, facial features, possible diseases, and a person's emotional status can be known. From background noise, we can determine possible whereabouts of the person. But I think he was being cautious about something else."

"Huh?"

"Nen ability. It's possible that there is a Nen-specialist who can find out eerything about a person just by listening to his voice. He is formidable."

"There's two more," Gon looked at the open box.

"Let's leave the ring for later," Killua decided.

"This ROM card," Gon picked it up. "It's smaller than a normal one. Do I need special hardware for it?"

Killua and Stasy looked at him as if he was stupid, and they might not be far off. "Haven't you ever heard of a J.S.?"

"J.S.?" Gon cocked his head to the side.

Stasy took the card from Gon. "This is for the game console, Joy Station."

* * *

Killua sat in the chair, his hands working magic with Gon's computer. The other two huddled around the screen and observed in wonder. "From the Toyland website, we can search for stores, just by entering our address and product information. Like 'We want the lowest price possible,' and stuff like that."

"Cool!" Stasy and Gon exclaimed together.

"Stasy," Killua spoke over his shoulder. "I would expect Gon to be oblivious of these kinds of things, since he has th excuse of living on an island in the middle of no where, but why are you so surprised? You knew about the Joy Station."

"That was only because I heard the kids in Granny's neighborhood talking about them. I've never used it or a computer before. I never really had time, nor cared for machines."

Killua shrugged and went back to work. "Joy Station and ROM card...same day delivery...got it!"

"But, we can't play a game with the software, right?" Gon stared at the ROM card in his hand. "How do we know what game this is for?"

"You haven't played games at all, have you?" Killua gave him a funny look.

Gon looked up at him, clueless. _Really,_ Apathy sighed in Stasy's head. _What would this kid be without Killua._

When the package arrived, they quickly set up the game. Killua, of course, worked the mechanisms as the two ignorant children watched. "Wow, it takes up a full memory card," Killua exclaimed.

Gon read the heading on the screen. "Greed Island?"

"I've never heard of it before," Killua cocked his head to the side. "I'm sure we could find information on it at the Hunter's Website."

"Ok, then, let's get on," Gon got up to get to the computer before Killua pulled him back down by the collar.

"No, you doofus!" he yelled. "We need to use a public computer! Some hacker could easily find out your address!"

* * *

The children walked out of the door of an internet cafe, taking in all they had just learned from logging into the Hunter website. From what they had learned, the only way for them to obtain Greed Island was at the Auction in York Shin with at least 8.9 billion Jeni. Well, they were in York Shin, but...

"How much do we have left between us?" Gon asked.

"10.84 million," Killua answered after counting.

"That old hag tricked us!" Gon fumed. "The vase be bought first sold for double."

"Come to think of it," Stasy interjected. "That was the trap."

"He got our trust by earning us small money," Killua sighed, "and then took the whole chunk later. It's a basic technique in scams."

"I told you to use the public site!" Killua suddenly turned on Gon. "We did it for 8 hours only made 985 Jeni! We'll never get to 8.9 billion!"

"It's better than going down in money!" Gon snapped back.

"You were cheering too when the vase sold!"

"Umm..guys?" Stasy tried to calm down the rowdy boys, but they only ignored her.

"It's a competition," Gon growled, pressing his forehead against Killua's.

"All right!" Killua growled back.

"The one who makes more money during the next week wins!"

"Ok!"

"We both start with 5.42 million and we decide the winner at 9pm on August 31!"

"Interesting, and if you lose?"

"The winner can ask th loser to do anything!" Gon put his finger up.

"All right. I'll leave you in the dust."

"On your mark...get set...GO!"

The two boys shot in opposite directions, leaving Stasy standing there, bewildered and alone.


	33. Quick Money

**A/N: **I finally picked this story up after months of slumber! _The Greatest Treasure_ has finally come out of hibernation! And with not much to offer for its lateness. I'm getting really impatient because a big is going to occur, but I have to lead up to it. It's killing me. But it can only get better from here. So, bear through it, and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Hunter X Hunter or any of its characters.

**Quick Money**

They walked around the streets of York Shin, which were as crowded as a can of sardines. Gon gasped and exclaimed at everything he saw. It was cute at first, but now the two just wanted him to shut up.

"Wow, it's only morning but look at all the people!" he exclaimed, bouncing up and down.

"Ah, man, if the moomoo dance hadn't come around, I would've earned 12 times the amount!" Killua sighed.

"You shouldn't gamble to earn money," Gon chastised him sharply.

"Shut up!" Killua snapped. "You only earned 15 thousand in two weeks? You could get more with just panhandling on the streets!"

"A win is a win," Gon shook his finger.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Killua rolled his eyes.

As Gon skipped off ahead, he slowed down so that he was walking at Stasy's slow pace. Her face was contorted in deep thought, and she never took her eyes off the ground. "What's up? or down, in your case."

"Nothing," she sighed, after he eyees flicked up at him. "I was just thinking-"

"Well, that can't be good."

"-about the dream I had last night," she continued, ignoring his rude interruption. Then, more seriously, she looked up at him and asked, "Killua, if I were to hurt Gon, what would you do?"

Without hesitation, he said, "I'd kill you."

Stasy smiled softly. "Yeah, me too."

From that moment on, a silent pact had been formed between the two. They would protect the ignorant country bumpkin for as long as they should live. Together.

* * *

"You need to get a cell phone," Killua poked Gon in the forehead. "And you too, Stasy. That's a Hunter's most important tool. How are we supposed to get a hold of each other when we're apart?"

"Welcome!" a street vendor smiled widely at the children as he held up a variety of phones and showed them to Killua. "This one is hot right now! Card sized and very thin. It has a tracking device, so it's good for meeting people."

"Don't get that one," a familiar voice called from behind them. "It doesn't work in a lot of countries, not water-proof, and it's for phone use only."

"L-Leorio!" they shouted.

Sure enough, the tall man with sideburns smiled at them with a "Yo!"

He held up one of the cellphones that resembled a large black bug. "I recommend Beatle Version 7.0. It's a bit heavy and pricey, but it has world wide usage, 200 language translation function, and you can watch TV and record too."

"Ooh!" Killua exclaimed excitedly. "Let's all get that one!"

"Hey, man, how much?" He gestured to the vendor. "2 for 400k? That's too much! I'll buy them somewhere else, then! How 'bout 95k? 100.2k, I can't give you more! Give me a little more discount! 500 more?"

He continued to bombard the vendor, as Killua and the gang watched in awe. "He's good," Stasy muttered.

"He's in the ten digits now," Killua said.

"There's an audience forming," Gon looked anxiously behind him at the growing crowd.

* * *

"One for 110K, not bad," Leorio smirked.

"You went overboard," Killua sighed, hands in pockets. "I've never seen anyone be applauded for buying a cell phone."

"But you saved us a lot of money," Stasy exclaimed. "Thanks!"

"Negotiation is basic!" Leorio rubbed his stubble proudly. "I can go for more, if I try harder. I once got the same phone for 80k! When the owner says 'Go away,' that's when the real negotiation starts."

"He's really not fit for auctions," Gon whispered to Killua.

"True."

"And, have you guys mastered Nen?" Leorio osed the question, as he side-stepped to avoid a large crowd of people.

"Yeah, of course," Stasy threw back.

"Are you going to learn after your med-exam?" Gon asked.

"I've already learned it," he smirked, pushing his sunglasses back up the rim of his nose.

* * *

"The minimal expected price is 8.9 billion and you only have 5 million?" Leorio fell onto the couch in their hotel room. "The Sazan Piece Auction House is the most prestigious of all auction houses. With your budget, you won't be able to afford the entrance fee. You say there's a clue to searching for Gon's father in this game, but it's next to impossible to get it, right?"

"The Hunter's website said it was easy to obtain," Killua sat on the windowsill.

"The only thing you need to have is money," Gon finished.

"I told you money is everything!"

"But, things that can be bought can't be called a true treasure, right?" Stasy pointed out. "Get these kinds of things with ease, then your truly a real hunter, right?"

They all cocked their heads to the side curiously, but then Leorio jumped up happily! "Let's go, guys! I found a way to do an auction and make money for sure?"

"Huh?"

Leorio led the children to the streets of York Shin where he set up table, and placed Gon at one end. A crowd had already formed, curious as to what the set up was.

"STEP RIGHT UP! Step right up!" Leorio called out to everyone, making obtuse gestures. "Conditional Auction is about to begin!"

Stasy walked up, wearing her cutest smile, holding box with a large diamond inside.

"Our item is a diamond worth about 3 million jenis with a quality assurance document from the store behind us! The condition is arm wrestling! The diamond will be sold to the first person who wins against this young man! The price is 10,000 Jenis! Let the auction begin!"

Just as Leorio had predicted, everyone immeadiatly began to pay the entry price to try and wrestle the small boy. Gon did his best to act weak, and make it look like any of them had a chance. One by one, Gon defeated every opponent that came his way.

Killua sighed with boredom. '_88, 999 victories to go until 8.9 billion._'

After about his 150th victory, a small woman with cropped black hair and red glasses paid the netry fee and sat across from him. "A first female challenger!" Leorio narrarated to the crowd.

"Go girl!" someone from the audience shouted.

"Hey, monster kid, take it easy!"

"Nice to meet you," she bowed her head politely towards Gon.

"Ah, me too," Gon bowed back.

"Ready? Go!"

They struggled for a while, Gon sweating all over, and the girl cringing, trying to exert as much force as she could. But alas, her hand fell to the table, leaving Gon breathing heavily. She bowed her head again. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

She stood up and left, disappearing into the crowd. Killua bent down next to Gon and whispered, "You were at full power, right?"

"Yeah."

"Who is she?"

"Maybe the world champion of women's wrestling?"

* * *

The four walked into a very suspect and shady building, full of people. They encountered an arena that reminded them of the celestial tower, or possibly a wrestling match. Just as they arrived, a lone light shone down on the arena, where a strange looking. . .None of them could discern the gender of the announcer, but it had major muscles jutting from its body.

"Let's start without waiting for the conditional auction!" it said, and even the voice was unisex. "Today, the rule is simple: hide-and-seek! Look carefully at the pictures you were given, those seven people are todays targets!"

Gon took a flyer from a woman in pigtails passing them out and his eyes flew wide open when he looked at the paper. "This girl is the one who came to the arm wrestling yesterday," Gon spoke to the others.

"The condition to fulfill is to catch them and hand them over to us!" the announcer spoke into the microphone. "The reward is 2 billion Jenis per head! There's no time limit! Ded or alive! Obviously, the way for you to capture them is free to decide. If you manage to capture one of them, contact us at the number at the bottom of the page. We only ask for participation taxes in 5 million Jenis per participant. We ask the people who want be participating in this event to give the pictures back."

Leorio and the others eagerly handed in the money before they left the conditional auction and headed outside. Some other participants were already working on finding information. The children walked into the street, heads swarming with this new found information.

"I think all of this sounds fishy," Killua said aloud. "A while ago, it seemed we were supposed to be in a conditional auction, but this seemed more like an investigation with a reward. I think the mafia realizes it needs help and is trying to find other solutions. You saw, like I did, the ring in the middle, right? I think the initial project was to organize fights or something like that."

"You think it became necessary for them to find those guys?" Stasy asked.

"Yes, no matter the time or money it cost," Killua replied. "The 5 million tax is to give an impression of a real auction. The fact that the reward is a check, and not a high value object, don't you think that's strange?"

"You don't mean. . ." Leorio said. "You think the objects for the main auction have been stolen by. . .? And in that case, there was only one solution remaining: launching an investigation notice on the thieves with a reward."

"Yes, and there's only one group gutsy enough to steal the mafia's treasures: the Genei Ryodan!"


	34. The Ryodan's Hideout

**A/N: **Now it seems like _Possessed _is in a slump. Oh well. At least I'm picking something back up. Enjoy!

**The Ryodan's Hideout **

Gon, Stasy, and Killua stood in an appraising shop, while Leorio looked for information on the Ryodan online back at the hotel. They had discovered a way of finding rare items by using Gyo to see if it gave off an aura, and then they'd bid for it in the free market.

"Oh? You had this at home?" the appraiser asked as he looked at a framed picture.

"Yes, in our abandoned attic," Killua lied. "Our parents said we could sell it, depending on the price, so I brought it."

"These objects are very nice," he commented. "This one, for example," he held up the picture "is a lithography by Muca Tolinni. This series has 50 prints, and this is one of the first, plus it's signed. The artist only signed the tablets he really liked. I think the signature is authentic. I would give you 150, 000 jenis for it."

The children exclaimed in silence, doing the math in their head. They would have an increase in 139, 000 jenis for this.

"And this one," he picked up the bizarre wooden sculpture. "I'm sorry, but this doesn't seem to be of value at all. The sculpture itself is raw in its confection, lack of seals, and above all, doesn't have a signature. This must have been made some hundred years ago. I'm willing to give you 1, 500 jenis for it."

"Really?" Stasy grumbled when she figured out it would result in a complete loss of money.

"I'm talking about the price as a sculpture," the appraiser said. "This wood is quite old and pure. I'm sure some sculptures would be willing to give quite a bit of money for this. Could I go to the back to look at it and decipher its age?"

"Yeah, sure," Killua said, as he decided to discuss his options with the others.

"Don't move!" a man with red hair shouted from behind them. "Leave that piece of wood where it is! Don't be tricked, kids. For the other items, the prices are honest, but for the wood, he's cheating you."

"What are you doing here?" the appraiser stepped back. "I didn't lie to them."

"How's that?" the red haired man challenged. "I'm sure you don't know any sculpture willing to pay anything over 1, 000 jenis for that hunk of wood. It's what's inside the sculpture that interests you. It's a wooden chest. 300 years ago, the rich used to hide their treasure in it. Ironically, the ploy was so subtle, that if the owner died, the family would throw it away without any idea of what it contained.

"There's a detail that only a trained eye can see. That point indicates the chest has never been opened after sealing. If it's original, it must contain a huge quantity of precious objects. You wanted to pretend to check the age of the wood, and use that chance to empty the chest, right?"

"But. . .err. . .I. . ." the appraiser stuttered.

The red haired stranger gave a smirk.

"Thanks, Mr. Zepairu," Gon said to the red head. "Any longer and we would've been tricked.

"No need to thank me," Zepairu said as they walked down the busy streets. "It was nothing more than an exchange."

"Huh?"

Zepairu held up to fingers. "Twenty percent. That'll be my part after you sell the wooden sculpture."

"WHAT?"

"You really don't know anything. There's tariff for that kind of service."

"Twenty percent isn't possible," Killua stepped in. "If you want, we'll offer you lunch."

"Sure," Zepairu smiled.

Zepairu ended up eating about three times the normal amount of a grown adult. Killua wanted to cry as he watched the money fly out of his wallet, especially with Stasy needing to feed eight people.

"Answer me something," Zepairu said as he shoved noodles into his mouth. "How did you size up those objects?"

"Size up?" Gon cocked his head to the side.

"What's that mean?" Killua asked.

"Are you serious?!" Zepairu shouted. "If you don't even know what 'sizing p' means then how did you choose those objects?! Don't tell me it was pure coincidence!"

"Actually. . ." Gon looked at Killua, and then explained the entire thing to him, about having to find his father in Greed Island and the money they would need.

"I've got one last question," Zepairu said as he took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth. "How can I help you? If you want to get a lot of money in auctions, you have to know how to size up. I'll let you decide my commission rate. What do you think?"

"Fine," Killua said. "I too, want to ask you one last question. Why do you want to help us?"

"Because sizing up is my job," Zepairu answered seriously. "It's only normal to offer my services to those who need them."

* * *

Gon picked up the phone when he felt it vibrating. "Hello? Leorio?"

Killua and Stasy looked eagerly at him. "The Ryodan?"

"_Yes_," Leorio answered over the phone. "_It's apparently true. I received a file with the message where we can clearly see the Ryodan moving. The informer has a cell phone with a camera, and sent me a message combined with the image. I will now ask him for information on their exact position." _

"Eh? Let's go!" Gon said as he hung up the phone, and pulled the other two kids along with him. "Sorry, Zepairu, but could you sell the items without us?"

"Huh?"

"We gotta go! We'll come back later!" Gon shouted as he pulled Stasy and Killua along with him.

* * *

"Now here's the real problem," Leorio sighed as he glanced over the ledge to a table where he saw two members of the Ryodan sitting, supposedly on a date. "How do we capture them?"

"We don't," Killua said, head in his hand. "We can't do anything if we face them. Imagine you have two Hisoka's sitting at that table."

"Oh! That must mean they'll be fun!" Stasy exclaimed, while Leorio and Gon looked warily at each other.

"Why do you think they're in this square?" Killua asked them.

"It's a date, isn't it obvious?" Leorio said.

"No," Killua grumbled. "They noticed the couple watching them. Without even showing it, they kept control over everything around them, watching everyone and everything. If we get even a little closer, you can be sure they'll keep their eyes on us. At first, I thought that attitude was normal because the mafia was after them, but I realized they wouldn't come to such an exposed area. They look nothing like hunted people. They're waiting to be found. Waiting for their prey to fall into their web. They're ready to pounce.

"Gon, Stasy, and I will take care of the shadowing. They must not spot us. We'll be using Zetsu. Gon! Stasy! Two rules to obey. If they see us, we stop following immediately. We leave without hesitation. Secondly, if I think it's impossible, we stop. Alright?"

"Yes sir!" Stasy said, flicking her hand to her head in a salute.

"Ok," Gon agreed.

"The sign to stop is one ring," Killua said, holding up the phones they had bought. "Two rings are for a classical call. If we separate, Gon, Stasy, you follow the girl. I'll follow the guy. Leorio, you contact Zepairu and deal with the auction."

Leorio nodded, but Stasy stepped in, still smiling brightly, but Killua knew she was displeased. "Why do I need to be stuck with Gon? I can follow either one I choose."

"Face it, you two are the weakest," he said coldly, but then he whispered to her so that only she could hear. "Remember our promise to protect Gon? If anything happens to him, it's your head, got it?"

Stasy smiled blissfully, but her nod was serious.

* * *

_Shit_, Killua bit his lower lip as he watched the two Ryodan members from behind the leaves of a tree, praying that Stasy and Gon wouldn't slip up. He was more worried about Stasy, though. That girl couldn't shut up. _They've moved into a deserted area. Is it a trap? Have they spotted us? It could be their HQ. Which is it? They don't show any signs of noticing us. . .we'll continue._

They followed the two into a pile of ruins. They stood in the middle, in plain sight, not moving. "What do you think of it, Killua?" Stasy whispered through the phone.

"An appointment. . .?" he guessed. "Unless they're inviting us?"

"Us?" Gon repeated on the three-way. "You think they've spotted us?"

"Either is likely, but they don't know our positions," Killua said. "If it's an invitation, their message is 'Show yourselves.'"

"What are we doing then?" Stasy asked.

"We quietly observe," Killua said. "The possibility of an appointment is not far-fetched. I'm cutting. Stay alert."

Killua put the cell phone away, never taking his eyes off of the two. The long-haired man had taken out a cell-phone and was tailing away, but for a brief second, he paused and looked straight at where Killua was. At that moment, he knew they had been spotted, and flicked around, but there was a man in a black jacket blocking his way. Stasy and Gon had noticed as well, and when they turned around, a woman with a flat nose and a nice business suit was blocking their escape.

Killua instantly shot around the room, so fast that he was only a blur. But the man in the running jacket simply stuck his hand out and grabbed Killua by the leg, so that he was hanging upside down. But the white haired assassin didn't falter, he used his free leg to kick himself free, and landed with ease a few feet away.

"Hey, Finks," Killua turned around to see the long-haired man he was following climb through the third story window of the old building. "What are you doing here? I thought you were out with the boss?"

"If you want to fool you're enemies, start by fooling your friends," the scary-looking man in the jacket answered. "I see that you're prudent, as usual."

"The boss tricked me once more," the long-haired man with a black goatee sighed. "I was thinking there were too many good nen users around here. Fine. . .kid, I have some questions for you."

Meanwhile, Stasy and Gon were glaring into the face of the flat-nosed woman with short, brown hair, and the girl with long, ruffled, orchid hair. Gon held his fishing rod tightly in his hand, and Stasy had already plucked one of her hairs.

"Do either of you know the chain guy?" the flat nose woman asked.

"Huh?" they said simultaneously.

"We're looking for a nen user who has a chain," the purple haired woman said. "Is he the one that asked you to track us?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Gon said, on edge. "We tracked you of our own free will."

"Should I check if he's lying?" the flat-nosed woman asked the other. "And the girl too. She's been awfully silent this whole time."

----

"Question # 1: why are you tracking us?" the long-black haired man asked.

Deciding it would be stupid to lie, Killua told the truth. "The mafia's giving a generous reward on your head. There are a lot of sites that give money just to know where you are."

"Question # 2: who taught you the shadowing?"

"Better than shadowing, its a technique that allows us to hide our presence, Zetsu. I know it, because I wanted to become a professional hunter."

"Who taught it to you?"

"A master of kung-fu shingen."

Question # 3: do you know a nen user who uses a chain?"

"A chain?"

"He's from the Manipulation or Transformation Nen type."

"You're master didn't have a chain at the right wrist?" Fink spoke. "Unless its you?"

"I don't know," Killua answered, sweating badly. "My master is from the Reinforcement type. He only taught me the four basic principles."

"Really?" the long haired man sighed. "Ok, last question. You have two choices. Do you want to die now? Or later?"

---

There was a ring from the pocket of the woman with a flat nose. Gon saw this as a chance to make an escape, but the purple haired lady already had his arms pressed behind his back. "Don't make useless moves," she ordered.

Gon glanced to the side, to see Stasy smiling, carefree. She had thrown away the piece of hair in her hand, and looked completely relaxed. Had she got hit on the head or something?

The woman with the flat nose hung up the phone and returned it to her pocket. "Your friend wisely let himself get captured."

They were ushered into a four door sedan, where they were driven to what seemed like the middle of no where. The flat-nosed lady pushed a rotten, wooden door to a rumbling building open.

"Welcome to our hideout," she said, as the kids were ushered forth.

The room was broken down with various pieces of rubble and the ceiling lying on the floor, where the other members of the Ryodan now sat. Eleven people kept their cautious eyes on the three children. There was a boy with blonde hair, a plain looking woman with short, black hair, red spectacles, and a blue sweater, what might've been a woman, but was in fact a man was wearing a full black suit that covered everything below the eyes, a strange looking bald man wearing nothing but belts that left only his eyes and nose to be seen, a giant with long ears, several stitches, and short tufts of black hair on the top of his humongous head, a small kid with long hair with a striking resemblance to Cousin It, and none other than Hisoka, who was ignoring them at the moment.

Stasy was about to open her mouth to say hi, but she was quickly reprimanded by Apathy.

_Don't say a word, idiot! _

_What? Why? I was just going to say 'hi' to Hisoka-nii. He might help us out of here. _

_He can't, retard, how do you think the Ryodan will act if they know each other? It'll be bad for both of us. Just stay quiet. It looks like Killua already got the memo. Now, let's just hope Gon- _

"Ah!" Gon cried in exclamation.

Killua and Stasy froze. _Idiot! _

"What?" the long-haired man asked. "Is there someone you know?"

"Err. . .no, actually," Killua scanned the room for something that might help him, and then his eyes lay on the girl with the red spectacles. "Ah! The woman who was in the arm wrestling!"

"You know them, Shizuku?" Fink asked her.

"No, not at all," the one named Shizuku replied.

"Ah. . .I remember," the one with the black suit said. "The kid who was arm wrestling."

"When was this?" Shizuku asked.

"The day before yesterday," the giant told her. "You lost to this kid at arm wrestling."

"No, I never would've lost against a kid," Shizuku said.

"But you did, with your right arm," the giant told her.

"Why would I have done that when I'm left handed?" said Shizuku.

The giant furrowed his eyebrows and then gave up. "Never mind, my mistake."

"So you won against Shizuku in arm wrestling?" the long haired man asked Gon.

"Yes," Gon answered honestly.

"Fine, play against me," the long haired man said as he pulled his sleek, black hair into a ponytail.

The long-haired man gestured towards a table where Gon sat, and the others watched. Time and time again, Gon's hand was slammed into the wooden table, until it began to bleed. Gon had already begun to sweat with the stress, and Killua could feel himself sweating just watching him.

"Say, what's my ranking in the Ryodan for arm wrestling?" the long haired man asked his teammates.

"Seventh or eighth, I think," the purple haired woman said. "Not strong, but not weak, either."

"The strongest of us was a guy named Ubougin," the long haired man said to Gon as he slammed his fist on the table again. "It seems he's been killed by that guy with a chain."

"We already told you that we don't know him, didn't we?" Killua said.

"Next time you open that mouth without permission, I'll kill you," the long haired man warned Killua with a fierce look in his eye as he shoved Gon's fist into the table again.

Gon's wounds would surely be infected if he kept shoving it into the table like that, but he didn't show any signs of weakness, and bore through it.

"He used Reinforcement," the man continued. "We were like two fingers of one hand. He was quite demanding about punctuality. He often argued with Franklin and I because of our tardiness. We hit each other like kids, and I always lost." The man with the ponytail began to quiver with emotion now. "We knew each other before joining the Ryodan. I'm the one who knew him best." Tears streamed his angry face. "It's not possible that he lost while fighting loyally. He must've fallen into some kind of coward's trap! I'm positive! I'll never forgive him! Even if I have to kill ten's of people, I'll kill him! The chain guy must have a strong feeling of hate against us. He was hired by the Nostrad clan."

Killua stiffened as he made the connection. _A strong hate. . .No. . . _

"You might not know him directly, but you could have heard rumors about him," the long haired man said, calming somewhat. "Try to remember. If you have any idea, say it without hesitation."

"I don't know," Gon said, his voice firm. "And even if I did know, I wouldn't tell you!"

Everyone looked at Gon in surprise. Did he not realize the situation he was in?

"I was thinking you couldn't cry, nor did you have a heart," Gon said as the aura of Nen around him began to grow brighter. "Being able to cry for your companion. But in that case, why. . .even a little. . .don't you share that feeling with all the people you kill!" With those last words shouted, Gon slammed the ponytail man's hand into the table to hard that a crack made its way across the table.

However, the one with the black suit had Gon's arms pinned behind his back in an instant. As Gon winced in pain, Killua took a step to help, but then he stopped as the sheer murderous intent of Hisoka from behind him kept him still. He had a two of spades to Killua's neck, so close that it drew blood. "One move, and I cut."

A few of the other Ryodan members looked over to Stasy, but she made no movement, only smiled serenely, watching the precessions happily.

"Answer my question," the one restraining Gon said. "Do you know the chain guy?"

"I'll say it once more," Gon said, his eyes lit with righteous fury. "I have nothing to tell you!"

Just as the black suit guy looked like he was about to snap Gon's arm in half, the ponytail guy stepped in.

"Feitang, stop it."

"Stop what, Nobunaga?" he asked.

"What you were trying to do," Nobunaga said.

"Because you know what I'm trying to do?" Feitang said sarcastically.

"You're aiming to break his arm, right?"

"I was thinking of starting with the fingers. Carefully removing his nails. . ."

"Who are you to order me around? I don't have to listen to you."

They glared at each other like two roaring tigers about to clash.

"Oi! That's enough, Nobunaga," the giant stepped in. "You're not respecting the rules. Serious quarrels are forbidden between members."

"I know," Nobunaga said as he calmed down. "In that case, we'll settle it with a coin, is that okay?"

Nobunaga pulled out a small, plastic coin with a spider marked on it. He flipped it in the air, and caught it in the flash of an eye, placing it on his outstretched arm.

"Tails," Feitang called.

"Heads," Nobunaga said.

He lifted his hand to reveal the spider coin facing up.

"Heads," Nobunaga said.

"Leave him alone, Feitang," Finks said.

Feitang begrudgingly released the glaring Gon, and stepped back.

"So what are we going to do with them?" Shizuku asked. "They still haven't told us anything about the chain guy."

"If they don't know anything, let's release them," the giant said. "What do you say, Pakunoda?" He looked over to the flat nosed woman.

"I examined them on our way here," she said. "Neither of them knows anything."

"Really?" the purple haired woman asked.

"Yes, no trace of the chain guy in their memories."

"Your intuition was wrong," Nobunaga said.

"Odd," the purple haired woman commented. "That rarely ever happens."

While they talked, Killua sneaked over towards Gon and Stasy. "Hey, did they do anything to you two on our way here?" he whispered.

"No," Stasy whispered back. "They only asked us questions."

"That's what I thought. . ." Killua muttered, his brain trying to sort everything out, until it hit him. He remembered a when they were driving in the car, on their way to the hideout, the Pakunoda lady had wrapped her arm around him, and asked him questions. _Could she have the ability to search a persons memories simply by touching her target? Now I understand. Before, I couldn't think of anything in particular, but now I've made the connection. If she examines me again, it's over!_

"If they're not related to the chain guy, we can let them leave, right?" the giant asked the blonde kid.

"Yeah, it's pointless to keep them here," he said. "He's our objective. That's all. Others can be released."

"There we go," Feitang said melodically. "You can go back home."

The children turned to walk away, Gon sticking his tongue out at Feitang, but they stopped when Nobunaga said, "We won't let them leave."

They turned around and looked at him. He stared straight at Gon with a smirk playing on his face.

"Kid, join the Ryodan."

"No way!" Gon immediately replied. "Enter your clan? I'd rather die!"

"It seems he really hates us," Nobunaga chuckled. "You use Reinforcement, right?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

" Ha ha! Yes, there's no doubt about it!" Nobunaga laughed. "Fine, we'll keep them here until the return of the boss. We'll make them enter the Ryodan."

"You're serious?" Finks said.

"Do you really think the boss will accept it?" Feitang said.

"Pff! I don't care," the purple haired woman said as she chose a spot for her to sit.

"I don't know about the two boys," Pakunoda said. "But the girl definitely has to stay here."

"Her?" Finks looked at the brightly smiling girl. "She's kinda weird."

"Yeah, she hasn't said a word this entire time," Finks said.

"I saw the boss in her past," Pakunoda said. "And from what I saw, he'll be very _ecstatic_ to be reunited with her."

The serene smile dropped from Stasy's face as she gaped at Pakunoda.


End file.
